3 Similarities Between Tennis and Financial Independence

In Frugal Fitness we mentioned that I play competitive tennis alongside my strength training. This is something I have increasingly taken more seriously, with a real desire to improve.

As I write this, the summer season has just finished and I’m aiming to use the winter months to address some fundamental weaknesses in my game. The aim is to take the step up to the next level and compete with a higher standard of player!

Throughout this process I’ve discovered some familiar themes. The core principles I need to follow in order to improve my tennis have similar relevance for life in general. The mental side of the game aligns with skills I had already learnt on my path to financial independence. I call this the tennis mindset!

FIRE types will find the below principals familiar. Whether you’re a tennis player or not, these skills can be applied of many areas of your life. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and question your approach!

Stoicism

In order to improve and progress, I’m having to take my tennis back to basics. Meanwhile, my game will almost certainly appear weaker. From the outside it will look as though I’m much worse off!

Sound familiar?! It’s the same as lowering your living costs – you’re deliberately making sacrifices in the present for long term gains. Delayed gratification at its best!

Here’s an analogy for you…from the world of construction!!!!

The most important (and longest) stage during the construction of any building is the below-ground works. This stage is essentially ‘invisible’ to most from the outside. This is, however, the most important time in the development of the building.

If strong foundations are laid, they set the path for a successful project. The same applies to tennis and to financial independence too!

Growth Mindset

Most people at my tennis club play at their current level and have no desire to improve. For many, their game will not have changed for years and they are happy to play against the same opponents time after time.

Aside from being good for general fitness, I find this approach hard to understand, as everyone is capable of improving to some degree.  I recently told people at the club I wanted to improve my serve, but was quizzed about why. Because my current serve was fine, why change?

Whilst these people were right that my current serve was ‘good enough’ for the level I am currently playing at, I have my sights set higher. I want to compete at the next level and for that, my serve has fundamental flaws. It needs taking back to basics and re-learning.

Achieving success here will take a lot of time and commitment, but in order to meet my goal it is absolutely necessary. For someone with a growth mindset, this makes it a no-brainer!

Having read Mindset by Carol Dweck*, I always try to approach life with a growth mindset. Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in a rut if you don’t take a look at the bigger picture. This is a vital aspect of the tennis mindset!

This reminds me of those who cruise through life spending every penny they earn. There’s no thought for longer term goals.

This can be easily applied to any part of your life. Take a step back and think about your long term goals. Does what you’re doing in the present get you closer, or are you just cruising?

Don’t Worry About What You Can’t Control

I used to view my success and failure by whether I won or lost each match. I recognise this mindset in almost every other tennis player I have come across. Unfortunately, this approach is fundamentally flawed.

The only people this could be a valid approach for are professional players who compete for a living. They need to win each individual match in order to progress in a tournament and win more prize money. At the amateur level, it makes much less sense.

I’ve recently changed my approach to one of development. I now set specific goals for each match rather than simply looking at win/loss, which allows me to assess the outcome. Did it work? If not, why not? Sometimes you simply come up against much better opponents!

This approach allows me to still take something out of these matches and test myself, regardless of the score. If you come off the court having improved, the result doesn’t really matter. You will still be a step further on your path of continual improvement!

In financial independence terms, this is like those people who focus on the current stock market price. This is something totally out of your control, like the result of a match. Instead, your primary focus should be on meeting your own pre-set goals. In this case, that would mean meeting your spending/saving targets etc!

It’s All in the Mindset!

I’m very grateful to the world of financial independence for helping mould my mindset and principles. This has allowed me to apply those same principles to other areas of my life, with very positive effect.

Have you applied any of the above tennis mindset principles to different areas of your life? I’d love to hear some examples of your successes in the comments!

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