BREATHING Through CLUTCH Moments, Djokovic's SECRETS for Overcoming DISTRACTIONS

Explore the exceptional mindset of Novak Djokovic, a tennis superstar, with Psychotherapist Mike Stroh and Professor David Zarnett. Discover Djokovic's secrets of success rooted in his mental performance and mastery over his opponents.

This is a clip from the longer video, click here to watch - https://youtu.be/h9-8hChBoxs

🔵ATTRIBUTION 🔵

Tennistic Productions. February 4, 2023. Novak Djokovic Reveals his SECRET for Mental Strength. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY96ZSFuprY

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I wanted to talk to you about clutch moments. When you're in those situations, how do you avoid distractions? consciously breathing first.That's that's probably the simplest thing that you could do, but probably the most effective. I think the experience of being in this particular situation so many times before in my career helps me every next time that I have to face the adversity and face the distractions and, you know, my thoughts and what ifs and fears and so forth, I think everyone goes through that thought process is just and I don't think it's particularly bad.I was thinking it's bad. So I was trying to ignore it or I was trying to shut it down. But I think the major transformation in a positive way for me started when I was starting to acknowledge it and accept it as as part of me. It's it's it's there. My ego is there, my fears are there, everything is there, It's present. But then how will I address it in a way that is going to help me to overcome that, to transform it into positive fuel that is going to help me overcome the clutch moments that you talked about, which is feel happy and joyful and present on the court and get the best out of that experience.
Just notice the first thing said. There was my breath. We don't acknowledge enough the power of our breath when I'm working with clients one on one or really, in any scenario where we're trying to build some mental stability or flexibility or resilience, the breath is always right underneath our nose. It's right in front of us and it is tremendously powerful. So I love that he mentioned that. And then he goes in, clearly he's met with therapists or teachers or trained like mind training or whatever, because then he goes on to state. And one of the other most important lessons to learn about our psychology is he said initially he probably tried to push away as negative thoughts or make them go away or whatever. And then he transitioned into this. Turning to the negativity he uses the word ego to turning to the discomfort, turning to these negative narratives we have in our mind. And rather than pushing them away, accepting them as part of us, allowing them in, not running from them. And that is a that is the core of most psychotherapies really, is how do we face the things that we don't like, not run from them, integrate them into who we are so that we can then move on?
what's interesting is how in the sort of the mental health space, the, the spiritual space, there's always the P word used, which is practice like breathing practices, mindfulness practices. So it's like, you know, I would practice my tennis stroke in preparation for something. I would practice my breathing and practice my ability to be mindful in preparation. So I think it's relevant to maybe the previous point I made about developing those skills, like mindful breathing or being able to enter a more meditative state where you can sort of see your thoughts as passing clouds that sort of in one ear out another, or whatever metaphor you use is not something that you can just do, right? Especially when things are stressful, especially when you're in a what? The interviewer asked Djokovic. Sure, But when you're in a clutch situation, it's so challenging to control your thoughts, control your body and to control your breathing, because those things are are powerful biological forces that are operating sort of sometimes independently of our own mind, our own conscious thoughts. so getting a hold of those, I think like on on our own time matters, like spending five or 10 minutes meditating, a few minutes here and there, practicing different breathing exercises. So when it comes to entering a difficult tennis match and interview, whatever, that's that's tough. You sort of have this little tool you can put a pull out of your your toolbox and it's refined and ready to go.