Tennis & The Game Of Life

By: Heather Blanchard

Retired tennis champion Roger Federer was recently asked to give the commencement speech to graduates from Dartmouth College, and his speech was delivered with humor and heart. As there were many great quotes throughout, it went viral. He began by stating that he’d only stepped on a college campus twice in his entire life as he quit school at the young age of 16 to play tennis professionally, though he was receiving an honorary doctorate that day. He was humble, and there to praise all the hard work it took for the graduates to arrive at this special moment.

Federer said people often stated that he made the game of tennis look effortless – but of course it never was. He made it to the top of his game through many years of hard work and endless hours of practice. And then he said something so beautiful. He said: “Effortless is a myth.” He went on to explain that even when people made something look effortless, like athletes with natural talents or straight A students, there are always other areas in life that take hard work.

“But in tennis… like in life… discipline is also a talent. And so is patience.Trusting yourself is a talent. Embracing the process, loving the process, is a talent. Managing your life, managing yourself… these can be talents, too.Some people are born with them. Everybody has to work at them.” ~ Roger Federer

He shared an interesting tennis statistic – even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. “Here’s why I am telling you this.When you’re playing a point, it is the most important thing in the world. But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you… This mindset is really crucial, because it frees you to fully commit to the next point… and the next one after that… with intensity, clarity and focus.”

In other words, in the game of life we have to learn how to overcome losses. So often we spend too much time dwelling on the past – on past losses – instead of focusing on the present. 

“Negative energy is wasted energy.” ` Roger Federer

Tennis is a game of presence, and to master the game of life, we have to try to focus on the here and now. We have to learn from our losses in order to grow stronger and be better. Again and again. Some of those losses will be small, like a game, and some will be huge. I’ll leave you with a quote from another great champion, Drew Brees:

“When you wake up, think about winning the day. Don’t worry about a week or a month from now — just think about one day at a time. If you are worried about the mountain in the distance, you might trip over the molehill right in front of you. Win the day!”

xoxo, Heather