Mindset and Andy Roddick
When I was 17 years old, I walked on the tennis court at the Don Shula sports club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was a sectional tournament. In the first round, my opponent was a young, skinny kid who had a big serve. He was well-known at the time, but not nearly as famous as he would become.
His name was Andy Roddick.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with tennis, Andy Roddick finished the 2003 season ranked #1 in the world. He won the U.S. Open, and had one of the fastest serves in tennis history (155 mph).
In the first game of the match, I actually broke Andy’s serve. But that was pretty much as far as I got. Andy won 12 out of the final 13 games we played. I lost by the scoreline: 6-2, 6-0.
Andy Roddick and his serve.
Growing up in Florida, I experienced firsthand how competitive sports can be. With warm weather year-round, people spend most of their time outside. And for kids and athletes, the opportunities to practice, compete, and improve are endless.
I didn’t compete in tennis until I turned 12, which is relatively late compared to others. When I did start competing, I rarely won a match. In fact, after one loss I specifically remember breaking down in the car and thinking I would never win one.
But for me, there was something about tennis that transcended the outcomes and score lines. I found it motivating, comforting, and deep-down...fulfilling, that every day I could focus on something, practice it, and get better.
In other words, if I had solely defined my “success” in tennis by the outcomes and scorelines, especially when I began competing, I never would have continued.
Think about the narratives I could have conjured up, and rationalized based on my initial outcomes:
I’m just not good enough.
They’re more talented than I am.
I’ll never catch up. I’ll never win a match.
What’s the point if I can’t win?
Even though these thoughts crossed my mind at times, they never dominated it. Because my desire to compete in tennis had less to do with outcomes, and more to do with getting better every day.
I don’t often share how competitive of a tennis player I was. Or that I went on to play 4 years of college tennis and became a 2-time All-American. It was just something I did, and really didn't think much about at the time.
But over the years, I've learned that competitive tennis had one of the most significant impacts on my day-to-day mindset. I draw on my tennis experience every single day, because the mindset to grow in a sports context parallels the mindset to grow in a professional (work) context, especially in start-ups and scaling companies.
Whether training within organizations and teams, coaching leaders, or even demonstrating my own leadership as a company owner, parent, and community member, I view every day, and every engagement as an opportunity to learn and grow. To practice. To get better.
The neat thing about our work at NextGen Center is that we get to help other people and teams expand their own mindset, practice, and to help them reach their potential. To help them engage in the activities that are going to help them grow as people, teams, and leaders.
And that really sums up the beauty of mindset. It's a choice, just like leadership.
You don’t have to be #1 in the world like Andy, or have the title or status within a company to cultivate it. You have to be committed to learning and growth. To practicing. And to getting better every day.