W. Timothy Gallwey, who wrote the intriguing book "The Inner Game of Tennis," introduced the idea that the most important part of what we do takes place right in our own minds. It's the inner work that we do, the clarity we achieve, the focus and direction that we command of ourselves, that makes for success or not.
Gallwey was so successful with this revolutionary idea that he went on to create a whole body of work around the idea of the inner work we must do to succeed at any endeavor. He followed up the first book with "The Inner Game of Golf," "The Inner Game of Skiing," and then branched beyond sports to "The Inner Game of Music."
Another book was about "The Inner Game of Work," once again bringing the work we do, both in preparation and execution, to the inner realm.
What do you think President's Obama's inner game is like?
To me he is the perfect role model for someone whose inner life, whose inner processes, whoe inner work is well developed. We can see it (most of the time) in his quiet deliberations before he acts and speaks. Not always, the Gates' incident being a notable exception.
The inner work is the mental space we enter into to be quiet, to reflect on what we're doing, to hear our intuition, to act and speak in a considered, deliberate way.
I have the confidence that President Obama enters this mental space to consider the different options, to weigh them on the scales of fairness, to tactfully and respectfully address the issues and the people involved.
Professionally I am a mediator. I started thinking about this inner process and how it could apply to my work and in doing so I remembered the book "The Inner Game of Tennis." I hadn't read it because I'm not a tennis player, but I was curious about what Gallway had to say about the inner process. Lots it turns out.
No matter what we're doing, we can all benefit from moving into that mental space of using our minds and listening to our intuition.
What is your inner game?
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