Emotions
Let's use the example of laundry here.
I take my clothes off and throw them in my hamper. When it gets to the top, I now have some processing to do. I wash, then dry, and then fold Em away. As long as I do this, my problem is never more than one basket of laundry.
Let's say I get lazy. I let the laundry pile up and pile up, skipping the processing part. Eventually I will have a whole room full of clothes, and a long day of processing to get it all done, or, I am forced to live in chaos, my choice.
Now we move to emotions.
They tend to build up and pile up just like our clothes In the laundry basket. And we need to have a good processing mechanism, or we end up with a huge pile of emotions, that definitely don't help us. Where this gets tricky is that we each have different emotions and different processing techniques.
Let's call our "ideal performance state" the same as our finished laundry basket.
First we need to know what this ideal state is, then we need to know how to process emotions and get back there.
Here is my ideal state:
- Loose
- Full of energy
- Alert
- Aggressive
Here are my processing techniques:
- Give myself a goal: "Let's get this ball deep, let's work super hard for this point" this command gives me direction for the next point.
- Release tension: breathing is the key here, moving, shaking out my limbs.
- It's important for me to feel like I am working at problem solving, so I like to go through some of the correct tons or answers I have found on the day, "Remember to look for that backhand, remember he tends to go cross-court, so when you come in, be ready for this" "early split step and hands in front."
This makes me remember I am always trying to learn and improve and aligns me with my long-term goal, alleviating the pressure of the now.
