Some sports skills, like driving a golf ball or serving in tennis, require relaxation. You hit the ball much harder if you are relaxed than if you try to "musc

Some sports skills, like driving a golf ball or serving in tennis, require relaxation. You hit the ball much harder if you are relaxed than if you try to "muscle it". In tennis, at least, the principle really applies to the whole game. As my coach said, "you won't play well if you're thinking about winning." It reminds me of the Taoist poem by Chuang Tzu that Thomas Merton translated as "The Need to Win": If an archer is shooting for nothing He has all his skill. If he shoots for a brass buckle He is already nervous. If he shoots for a prize of gold He goes blind Or sees two targets— He is out of his mind! His skill has not changed But the prize divides him. He cares. He thinks more of winning Than of shooting— And the need to win Drains him of power. [EDIT: Trying to figure out how to get single-spaced line breaks here. Not much poetry on HN, I guess. :-)]