I’ve been watching the Australian Open (tennis) this week and what I saw I see in all sports. What separates the players that do the best, including Carlos Alcarez the winner, is the level of freedom they have during key points. In any tennis match there are five or six key points that determine the set and eventually the match. What do the top players do in these key moments?

They sink under the waves of the ocean, meaning their minds get quieter and quieter, which means their motion gets freer and freer. The relationship between the mind and the body is a crucial one. In pressure situations, most players generate their intentions to hit a shot from the surface level. This only allows them to access the surface level of intelligence of the body.

But what the great ones do, especially in pressure situations, is sink under the waves of the ocean and generate their intentions to hit the shot from a quieter, softer level of the mind, which gives them access to more powerful levels of intelligence of the body. The result: more effective shots!

One of the crucial factors in playing well in pressure situations is to realize that intention, focus and determination do not equate to execution. If they did, you would remember that you experienced these factors when you played your best. Did you? Probably not.

Then what did you experience? Probably that your mind got quieter and less cluttered. Essentially you experienced the Fluid Motion Factor which can only occur when the mind gets quieter.

The lesson here? When it counts, get quieter, not more intense. You will play better and enjoy it more.

-Steven Yellin