True story (at least I think it’s true):
One of my tennis buds told me about a match she played many years ago. The night before, she’d been at a party and sampled a hash brownie. When the effects didn’t kick in right away, she decided to try a second, and then a third.
Needless to say, she was still feeling a bit loopy the following morning. Her tennis partner had to drag her out of bed and down to the courts and stick a racquet in her hand.
They ended up routing the opponents, 6-0, 6-0.
“I was too out of it to overthink things,” my friend explained. “All I could do was ‘see ball, hit ball.'”
I had a similar experience this morning, albeit without the hash brownies. I was struggling with a cold and feeling mentally foggy. I didn’t have high expectations for my performance today, yet I ended up playing the cleanest game I’ve played in a long time. ‘See ball, hit ball” was all I was capable of. There was no strategizing, no second guessing, no getting overly cute with my shots. My limited mental aptitude forced me to keep it simple–and we won.
Now, I’m not suggesting that we all get sick or stoned before our matches (although recreational pot is legal here in Massachusetts). But this morning’s experience suggests that dialing back my analytical side could do wonders for my game. I just have to figure out how to do it without the virus or the brownies.
Speaking of brownies, one of my teammates brought amazing gluten-free brownies for the match today. Best brownies I ever had, with or without gluten. It’s Open Nature brand brownie mix. Go get yourself some. You deserve it.
Anyone else play better when sick…or stoned?