Geoffrey Yang - WritingConsistent Commitment

When spectators commented on his playstyle as "effortless", Dr Roger Federer found it frustrating.

It overlooked decades of work needed to reach that level of effortlessness.

The grit.
The trust.
The patience.
The loving yourself.
The managing your life. 🏃‍♂️

On the court, we see his calm demeanour, silky smooth slice and elegant touch.

Off the court, it was years of "whining, swearing, throwing the racquet", before discipline set in and helped mould his sense of effortlessness.

But how did this effortlessness turn out in the end? 👇

“In the 1526 singles matches I played in my career, I won almost 80% of those matches. What percentage of points do you think I won in those matches?

Only 54%.

In other words, even top-ranked tennis players win 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 the points they play.”

When we dedicate our heart and soul to an art, we seldom reach perfection and instead grab small wins. Then, if we aim for consistency and play each opportunity like it is the most valuable thing in the world, these small wins stack, and I think that compounding is what makes our achievement so much more significant.

What are you trying to be effortless at? What lessons have you learnt along the way?

---
I'm a huge tennis fan, so I couldn't help watching Dr Roger Federer's commencement speech at Dartmouth. The speech is a treasure trove of quotes, stories, and lessons, and would definitely recommend a watch. This post doesn't do it justice.

P.S. For the tennis fans out there - there's a small coaching bit inside here as well :)