16: Reach Your Peak Performance by Letting Go: The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey Made You Think

The best of them know that their peak performance never comes when they’re thinking about it.
In this episode of Made You Think, Neil and Nat cover The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey. Before you say “I don’t play tennis,” it’s not really about tennis. It teaches you how to better learn and teach by getting your conscious mind out of the driver seat, and letting your true ability present itself. If you enjoyed either The Way of Zen or Finite and Infinite Games, you’ll like this book as it describes many similar ideas.
We cover a wide range of topics, including:   
Improving your sense of calm during stressful situations. The nature of the subconscious and conscious minds. Getting into the flow-state and letting the subconscious express itself. How to better trust the subconscious mind. Why you should take time off to play more often. Learning things easier by observation and imitation. Why you should sometimes let things happen, rather than make them happen. And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of The Inner Game of Tennis and to check out Nat’s Notes on the book!
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to listen to our episode on The Way of Zen by Alan Watts, to learn about Zen Buddhism and improving your life with it, and our episode on Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse, to learn how to push past your own self-limiting beliefs and to rethink everything.
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Mentioned in the show:
Lifehacker [3:20] University of Wisconsin [4:44] Buzzfeed [6:08] The Inner Game of Everything article [6:17] USC [6:30] The Components of Optimal Sexuality paper [8:13] Video of person climbing through drive-through window [13:03] Tai-Chi Push Hands [20:13] Nat Chat [28:24] Nat Chat episode with Thomas Frank [28:24] Nat Chat episode with Neil [32:18] Unlimited Brewing [33:19] Nat Chat episode with Charlie Hoehn [35:39] Game of Thrones [37:35] Starcraft [38:00] Discord [41:01] Reportive [47:56] RocketReach [47:57] The Five Levels to Expertise article [48:53] Deep House Relax playlist [1:02:35] Spotify [1:02:37] Listenonrepeat.com [1:03:07] Instapaper [1:04:28] Medium [1:04:35] Youtube Red [1:04:39] Adblocker [1:04:59] The effect of lipids on alcohol metabolism [1:07:46] Dota [1:19:36] Hearthstone [1:19:36] Books mentioned:
The Inner Game of Tennis (Nat’s Notes) Godel Escher Bach [0:46] (Nat’s Notes) (Made You Think episode) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance [1:34] The Way of Zen [2:42]  (Nat’s Notes) (Neil’s Notes) (Made You Think episode) Rise of Superman [3:30] Finite and Infinite Games [3:45] (Nat’s Notes) (Made You Think episode) Switch [12:24] Winning Ugly [17:40] The Art of Learning [19:03] (Nat’s Notes) Thinking Fast and Slow [22:53] Antifragile [26:14] (Nat’s Notes) (Antifragile episode) Principles [29:41] (Nat’s Notes) (Principles episode) Mastery [30:03] (Nat’s Notes) (Mastery episode) Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind [30:50] (Nat’s Notes) Play It Away [34:03] The Score Takes Care of Itself [1:23:22] (Nat’s Notes) People mentioned:
Timothy Gallwey Elon Musk [0:53] (How to Think Like Elon Musk episode) Pete Carroll [1:55] Steven Kotler [3:30] Phil Jackson [5:38] Al Gore [6:34] Nicole Kidman [7:45] Juliette Binoche [7:47] Derek Sivers [9:40] Plato [11:47] Chip and Dan Heath [12:24] Warren Buffett [14:59] Brad Gilbert [17:41] Boris Becker [18:01] Josh Waitzkin [19:03] Daniel Kahneman [22:47] Alan Watts [23:24] (Way of Zen episode) Thomas Frank [28:29] D.T. Suzuki [30:40] Shunryu Suzuki [30:52] Charlie Hoehn [34:02] Dreyfus Brothers [48:54] Ray Dalio [57:53] (Principles episode) Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:08:20] (Antifragile episode) Conor McGregor [1:21:27] 0:00 - Introductory quote, a bit of background on the book, and some discussion on the flow state. “Trying to get into flow is paradoxical.