When You're Not Playing Your Best
A few days ago, I had another UTR (Universal Tennis Ranking) match. I was playing against a very good junior player who hit with a lot of topspin. I wondered to myself if he had special strings to add more spin on the ball! It was challenging returning his shots, but I tried my best to stay patient.
On that day, I missed some easy shots in the beginning. I think I was a little nervous. There are some days when as much as you want to play your best, you just don't give the best performance. The lesson I learned on that day is that you have to try to stay calm when you aren't playing your best. Instead of lashing out or throwing my racket, I decided to tell myself again and again, "Just relax. Play like it's a practice match! Don't rush too much. Just relax!"
It turned out that I won the match in straight sets by the end of the day! I think staying calm and reminding myself to relax helped me to get through the match. But I also realized that the tennis match taught me an important lesson about life. There are some days when you just aren't feeling your best and everything seems like an uphill battle. In those days, you have to remind yourself that even if you aren't doing as well as you hoped, everything will be okay in the end if you don't panic. When things aren't going well, try to stay calm about it and find a solution. I know it's easier said than done, but it can really make a difference.