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smintyoongi 's review for:
The Inner Game of Tennis: One of Bill Gates All-Time Favourite Books
by Zach Kleinman, W. Timothy Gallwey, Pete Carroll
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
This book was such a fascinating read. It’s striking how many modern self-help and performance books clearly build on the concepts Gallwey first introduced here.
One of the most interesting ideas is Gallwey’s distinction between two selves: Self 1, the critical, over-controlling voice, and Self 2, the natural and instinctive doer. His whole argument that trying less can actually lead to better performance is both counterintuitive and eye-opening, even if it takes some effort to fully grasp.
I also found his point about feedback really powerful: That all judgmental feedback is harmful - even when it sounds positive. Calling one shot “good” inevitably implies that everything else is “bad,” which fuels constant self-criticism and overthinking which ultimately hurts performance!
Gallwey’s description of how we learn best was another highlight. He argues that step-by-step technical instructions rarely stick and instead make us overthink. Instead, true learning happens when we see a movement, imagine it, and feel it, while holding the desired result in mind.
Although the book uses tennis as its framework, the principles extend far beyond the tennis court. The book did start to feel kind of repetitive, the farther I got through it as it is basically the same principles that are repeated in different contexts.
One of the most interesting ideas is Gallwey’s distinction between two selves: Self 1, the critical, over-controlling voice, and Self 2, the natural and instinctive doer. His whole argument that trying less can actually lead to better performance is both counterintuitive and eye-opening, even if it takes some effort to fully grasp.
I also found his point about feedback really powerful: That all judgmental feedback is harmful - even when it sounds positive. Calling one shot “good” inevitably implies that everything else is “bad,” which fuels constant self-criticism and overthinking which ultimately hurts performance!
Gallwey’s description of how we learn best was another highlight. He argues that step-by-step technical instructions rarely stick and instead make us overthink. Instead, true learning happens when we see a movement, imagine it, and feel it, while holding the desired result in mind.
Although the book uses tennis as its framework, the principles extend far beyond the tennis court. The book did start to feel kind of repetitive, the farther I got through it as it is basically the same principles that are repeated in different contexts.