DEALING WITH THE VIRSUS CRISIS, DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY THIS TOO SHALL PASS

DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY THIS TOO SHALL PASS

"Well  Stanley this is another fine mess you've gotten me into."  An often used phrase use by the burlesque period comedians, the late great "Oliver & Hardy."

If you are sitting on your butt hand wringing, and repeating the words, "oh woo is me, what shall I do," during this crisis, pickup your pickleball paddle and find a good solid wall and start doing solo wall drills, Or popping up a ball off the face of your paddle 50 times without a miss.

Tie a ball to a 6 foot length of string and hang it from a basement rafter at your preferred return height, and just keep hitting it as it swings back and forth, using the linear paddle stroke for direction and experimenting with different kinds of spin to see the different effects it has on a ball, close up.

This is the kind of practical knowledge you won't receive at those pricey $150 to $250 Pro Pickleball Clinics or Workshops. 

What you do get for all those greenback is the "placebo effect" of having been in the presence of pickleball greatness. And by the time you get home, you forgot most everything you learned. 

But the mere fact that you stood across the net from the kings or queens of the pickleball realm, boosted your self confidence to play your best game. 

"You think you have become a better player in two hours of celebrity lip service, and your self-confidence is now running on high octane, playing out of your mind pickleball.  

Not so fast, "Skippy." You are self-medicating yourself using the "Placebo Effect."  A few games later and you are back to doubting yourself, playing scared, and getting your butt kicked.

Had a local pickleball coach or knowledgeable player told you the same things, standing on sideline, free of charge,  you would have thought, this guy or gal don't know what they are talking about. 

You won't get that "Placebo effect," from these well intention everyday folks that boost your courage to play more aggressively and take chances with different shot selections, without worrying about winning or losing.

That's right my friends, a lot about playing better pickleball depends on your mindset.  Develop a positive fearless, mindset, the next time you take the court and just see what happens. 

As     Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,” author of “FLOW ~ The Psychology of Optimal Experience. said, “ FLOW” can only occur when your skill level is perfectly aligned to challenge that the activity presents.”

· In other words, you first must developed the mechanics needed to perform the skills, necessary to accomplish the task. "Flow" is MC's version of "playing a sport in "The Zone."

So while you are waiting out this current situation, practice at home,  google Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,” author of “FLOW ~ The Psychology of Optimal Experience, and save yourself a lot of money in the process.

If you cannot practice at home, sit, relax, close your eyes, and visualize yourself playing your best ever pickleball.  You need to do this exercise almost daily.  In a short period of time, you will start to play better.  And once you build your own self confidence you continue to amaze yourself and your opponents.

The next time you attend one of these "guarantee to increase your skill level" clinics or workshops, ask the coach if he knows about the  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,” author of “FLOW ~ The Psychology of Optimal Experience. And then ask him or her to explain it in simple terms, after the clinic or workshop is over. 

Most likely you will hear, "I wish I had the time but we must leave immediately at the end to be at another location."  Then ask for a refund!