Timothy Gallwey’s “The Inner Game of Tennis,” written by a renowned tennis coach, offers an interesting thought on learning, by silencing your internal critic.
They key principle?
Performance = Potential – Interference, where interference is your inner critic, whether it’s praising or criticizing yourself, both of which are unhelpful.
One key concept is the method of non-judgmental observation. By simply observing our actions without judgment, we create space for improvement. Visualize the desired outcome and trust our inner self to perform without the active interference of our critic.
The process involves observing changes and results without judgment and repeating these steps. This approach allows us to master necessary skills while letting our inner self take charge of the game.
Gallwey’s insights are not just for tennis but can be applied to various aspects of life, offering a means to enhance performance by quieting the inner critic.
This is similar to what our scriptures call saakshi-bhaav.