Question 102: At what level should I start playing in matches?

Answer

▶ How long can you keep playing tennis?

It might be imprudent to put it this way, but as a matter of reality, we don't know how long we can keep playing tennis.

Tomorrow might be the last day due to a sudden accident or injury, or a natural disaster might make it impossible to play tennis starting today.

Therefore, I recommend doing what you can right now for the things you want to achieve someday.

Conversely, you don't have to do today what you can do tomorrow, so focusing on what you can only do now will increase your concentration both qualitatively and quantitatively.

▶ You'll be able to speak English because you're going abroad

It is often said.

That it's the other way around..

I want to go abroad once I can speak English.

But you should take the initiative there.

If you go abroad first, you will be able to speak English later.

This order is important.

You don't wear a bikini after losing weight; you wear the bikini first, and then you lose weight later.

It's not "I'll donate after I become rich," but "If I donate first, I'll become rich later."

▶ Donations, offerings, alms—the heart of it is to "prosper"

As mentioned here as well, it is well known through surveys and experiments that the giver is "happier" than the taker.

You prosper because you "take the initiative" in happiness.

Or it is a story very similar to the "What is the purpose of offerings and alms?" mentioned here.

God does not ask the people for offerings in exchange for granting wishes, nor does Buddha go around begging for alms to steal food.

Both God and Buddha are aiming for the "circulation" where you give first so that you receive later.

If you ask, "What is the heart of donations, offerings, and alms?" the answer is "to prosper."

The reason Shakyamuni went around begging for alms not from the wealthy, but rather from the poor, was because he aimed to draw out their "power to prosper."

▶ Results follow later

If you give first, you receive later. It is often said that "results follow later," but

that is exactly how the natural cycle works.Even in the breathing of the microcosm, even if you say oxygen is important, you won't get any if you just keep inhaling. If you don't exhale (circulate), you will suffer from oxygen deprivation in the case of oxygen, congestion in the case of blood, and a lack of funds in the case of money.



Because you exhale, plenty of fresh oxygen comes in

.

▶ Matches are the best practice

And playing in matches is the best practice.

If you give first, you will get better later.

You don't get better and then play in matches; you play in matches and then get better.

As a shortcut to passing university entrance exams, you tackle the Red Book (past exam questions) first.

In the first place, if you don't tackle the Red Book, you won't know what kind of questions the university you are applying to will ask, and you won't be able to prepare.

However, serious people who try to take the royal road (?) rather than a shortcut tend to try to cover all the knowledge necessary to become a university student, setting aside "trends and countermeasures."

They think that they should only start working on the Red Book after they have become good at studying, so it actually ends up being a detour.

This can be said to be exactly like the psychology of a tennis player who tries to play in matches only after they have become good.

▶ You will understand once you experience it

Unless you play in tennis matches, you won't know what you need and what you are lacking, even if you can imagine it, without actually experiencing it.

As mentioned here as well, whether it's entering a school, joining a company, or starting a relationship, I'm sure you have experienced the gap of "It was different from what I imagined!" after trying it out.

Unless you experience it, you won't know the reality of it.

Conversely, if you experience it, you will understand.

It is the "reverse."

Generally, people might tend to think that they should play in matches only after they have become somewhat good at tennis.

That is the same detour as trying to challenge the Red Book only after you have become somewhat good at studying.

▶ The "true royal road" that climbs the upward spiral

Of course, if your level is such that you can't even get your serve in, it might not be a "match" at all, so you might not find value in paying to participate.

Even so, just knowing that "I can get my serve in during practice, but I can't in a match" is something that makes it worth participating in itself.

Isn't the "true royal road" to climbing the ascending spiral to further polish or compensate for the mental, technical, and physical aspects of what you can and cannot do, as confirmed in a match, through your practice?

This is a path that all the legends have walked.

Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer didn't wait until they were complete players to play in matches; they became complete players because they played in matches.

And Novak Djokovic also says:

"There is no better practice than playing in a match.".

▶ The psychology of fearing a zero score on a practice exam

You might be afraid of failing at something when you play in a match, but if you think that way, you will only fear failure more.

That is exactly like the psychology of fearing a zero score on a practice exam.

However, the only thing you lose is temporary confidence, and instead of losing, you gain the learning that comes from knowing what you can't do.
If you were able to do it from the start, you would get a chance to rethink your choice of schools.

▶ Even if you fail, it's just "is that all?"

To stop fearing failure, the best thing to do is to play in a match and fail.

Even if you fail, you will develop the feeling of "is that all?".

Once you develop that feeling, you will want to challenge yourself more, so you can turn failure into fuel.

That said, it might be shocking at first.

In a tennis match, it is normal that you will be unable to do most of the things you could do in practice.

This is also something you cannot understand through imagination.

What you learn by experiencing it is the learning from having participated.

▶ Strike while the iron is hot, there is no time like the present, and things are easier done than thought

I think it would be painful to look back after you can no longer play tennis due to force majeure and think, "I wish I had played in matches." Or, since we are human, who knows how long the "motivation" to play in matches will last.

We tend to assume that "we can do what we want anytime" or "we can do it someday," but that might not be the case.

Before that happens, "get a head start."

It is the "reverse."

You play in matches first, so you get better at tennis later.

"Strike while the iron is hot," "there is no time like the present," and "things are easier done than thought."

So, without worrying about level guidelines, I recommend that you try participating whenever you feel like you want to.

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