Life Is A Game Of Tennis

Life is just a game of tennis; what you serve is what you get. It was a glorious morning playing tennis with my husband and children. I was growing exhausted chasing the tennis ball to each corner of the court. Afraid to give up, I stretched my body and swung as hard as possible, hitting the ball out of the court and into the grass a few meters away. It was then that I felt a release. In my mind, I wasn’t playing against my husband; I was playing against myself, and I was aiming to knock every bad memory, every ounce of trauma, even past hurt, out of the park with no way to find me ever again.

Tennis isn’t just a passion used to conquer postpartum weight, but it’s become my response to a past life full of abandoning my passions to fulfill the ego of liars. It’s how I combat past traumas created through an abandoned origin. For too long, I’ve been in a mental match with my old self, drilling unreturnable balls to my heart, confidence, and will. I’ve lost so many matches to myself that losing to someone else could feel like a relief.

Imagine yourself head to toe on one side of a tennis court. You probably have your hair pulled out of your face and a hat or sweatband on to keep the drops of effort from pouring into your eyes. Of course, you picked the most comfortable outfit that makes you look and feel good. Your tennis shoes usually match your outfit, and your tennis racket is placed firmly in your dominant hand.

You get to the line to serve, throw the lime green tennis ball up in the air after a few bounces to the ground, and position your body to serve the hardest yet accurate serve you can. Then you hear, “Fault!” Darn it, you hit the net. Alright, try again. “Double Fault!” the official yells! Now you just put a 15 on the board for your opponent.

You're in your head now. You mumble to yourself, “Come on, get it together.” You receive your next set of balls, and you're set to serve again. You throw the lime green ball in the air a third time, and this time you smash it over the net and right into the serve box. Your opponent smashes it back to the corner opposite you. You try your hardest to catch it before the second bounce. You just missed it. In frustration, you swing your racket, then look towards your opponent. You freeze as they stare back, your opponent is you!

You know your every move; you can anticipate your every mistake. The only thing left to do is grow and elevate. Growing and elevating requires more than just hitting the ball harder or faster; it’s about slowing down and defeating the parts of you that defeat you first. What does that mean? Look at doubt; your doubt defeats you before you can enter the game. What about your old habits that don’t serve the new you? Your old self is usually your opponent in life’s game of tennis. You hit back and forth, blow for blow, until one of you scores on the other.

Train your mind, your physical and spiritual being, to endure a taxing game of tennis between who you used to be and who you’re becoming. And don’t release your racket until you’ve returned every blow that doesn’t nurture your elevation and growth.