Tennis: The life lessons

Pass week, I decided to compete in a Doubles Triple crown tennis tournament with my friend Jan Axel Tribler. The triple crown is a series of three Tournaments where you can win prize money. Yes, extra motivation to get more practice.

The series ends with the biggest Tournament of the year at Kailua Racquet Club. That Tournament is very popular, and many people do enjoy playing doubles there.

Being able to play tennis at a higher level again after not really playing is a lot of fun. There are many reminders when you try to get back on the horse.

You just need to refresh your memory and get your body back in shape, or you will be sore the next day, and potentially you get hurt.

Playing tennis tournament brings a lot of memories; also it reminds me of many life lessons which I have learned by playing tennis.

It will take time

Thinking that you will be able to win all the matches against people who are practicing much more than you will take time. With Jan, we put roughly 5 hours before the first Tournament, and I can tell you that the level increased tremendously.

Fortunately, playing tennis is like riding a bike. The more time you spend practicing, the easier it gets.

This brings an excellent point for life as well. If you ever had a small or large victory such as success in business, won an award, there is a higher chance that you will be able to reach the same goal again if you focus on your goal.

It will take time, and your confidence level should push you forward because you have been there before.

If you fail, learn from it

Imagine, you are standing on the net, and the tennis ball is flying one hundred miles per hour towards you. What do you do? There are several options. You move away, get hit, or try to hit it back. In my case, I got hit because my reaction time was way off what I used to be.

What a bummer, because all I remember that I was able to hit at this speed at no problem. Not anymore.

The hit to my body did hurt with some bruise left behind; however, I know for a fact that I will be able to hit at that speed again if I put the time and practice.

The same approach can be applied in your daily life. For example, when I deal with my two kids, I know that I need to have X, Y, Z before I leave the house. In the past, I forgot to bring milk and diapers. If you are a parent, you never forget those two things.

I have learned very fast not to ignore my past mistakes; otherwise, the trips will be cut much shorter or very unpleasant for my kids and me.

Winning is the best

The feeling of winning a tennis match is amazing. If you have ever competed on a higher level, you more likely agree, that winning is like a drug. You want to win more and more, and when you do not win, you go back and practice even harder.

When you taste winning, you do not want to be the loser. When I started to play tennis, my whole first year, I won precisely ZERO matches. I have no idea why I did not want to quit, but I know that after winning my first matches, I wanted to experience winning again.

People do not remember losers but the winners. It does not matter how long it takes you to get there, just do not quit and enjoy the journey because winning is the best.

Tennis is a fantastic sport which teaches you so many amazing lessons. Being able to play tennis at a higher level gave me confidence for the rest of my life to achieve my goals and dreams.

I know that with the right attitude and hard work, I am going to achieve my goals. I used to play every day and hit thousands of tennis balls before I was able to win matches. The principles apply to my own businesses as well. Honza’s Watches and Value Your Watch Marketplace takes a lot of work, but I know where I am taking both of the companies. The long term vision has checkpoints which are being achieved. There are no small goals in life. Now go get yours!