Becoming No 1 Again After 5 Years and Setting a History Record - Lessons From Roger Federer

What does an everyday person have to learn from one of the greatest -if not the greatest- tennis players in the world?

Definitely not how to become No1 in tennis, even though if you watch him enough you can definitely improve your skills.

Before we dive into some lessons we can learn from this special individual, let me tell you about the spectacular achievement he managed to conquer yesterday:

The oldest world No 1

At the age of 36 he returned to the top of the ATP Tour rankings after 5 years of being away from it and he has become the oldest tennis player in history to achieve it, breaking the record of Andre Agassi who achieved it at the age of 33.

After he passed the milestone of 30 years of age, younger players like Djokovic and Murray grew strong and as a result he lost the No 1 to them. It was then when many "specialists" started predicting that his top career has come to an end and that he will soon retire.

Obviously he had a different opinion... Even though he remained away from the top for more than 5 years and struggled with injuries during that period, he made a gracious come back!

In February 2016 he had an arthroscopic knee surgery and came back to action 10 weeks later, played a couple of tournaments but withdrew from the French Open due to a back injury, ending a 65 consecutive appearances in Grand Slams.
He then played again in a few other tournaments including Wimbledon, after the end of which he announced he will not play for the rest of the season.
It's obvious that 2016 was a very bad season for him. It was the first time he dropped out of the top 10 since 2002, and the first time not to win any title in a calendar year since 2000. Wikipedia

Everyone was thinking that this might be the end of his glorious career and that he wouldn't be able to go back to top performances even if he returned back.

He started the season of 2017 as No 17 and finished as No 2, behind his all time rival and friend Rafa Nadal, and less than two months later -by Monday- he will be back at the top, making this historical record I mentioned at the beginning of this post.
He won three out of the last five Grand Slams, three Masters and 2 other tournament t1itles, running an astonishing 63-5 record from the beginning of 2017 until today! sdna

So without any further delay let's see what we have to learn from this remarkable athlete:

Lesson 1 - Never Give Up

If there is a moral after reading the above story of how he came back to the top while everybody were anticipating the end of his career is this: never give up!
If you love what you do, If you believe in it and in yourself, close your ears to what everyone says and keep working towards your dream!
No matter how many times you may fail, stand up and keep going remembering that there are no failures - only lessons!

Lesson 2 - Take Care of Your Health

After his surgery in February 2016 and having played a couple of tournaments, he withdrew from some others, came on court again for a few more tournaments but finally decided to stop for the season at the end of July.
This decision was taken in order to give his body the chance to relax and recover to the max and also prepare himself to be stronger for season 2017.

You also need to take care of your health! Even though you may not compete at a high level sport, still your health is important and it depends on you and your habits. What you eat and drink, the way you think, the levels of relaxation you offer to your body and mind - all together determine your health condition and your mood.
Allow your organism to perform at its best and help you be the best you can be at every given moment.

Lesson 3 - Hard Work

I am not present when Roger is exercising but I am more than sure that he works HARD!
As a former football goalkeeper I can guarantee to you that there is no athlete in the world that achieves any level of success without hard work. Tennis players spend long hours in the gym and the court per day.
Whatever your passion is, whatever it is that you want to achieve, hard work is one of the elements that will take you there sooner than later!

Lesson 4 - Mind & Emotions Control

Unfortunately I haven't met Federer (yet), but only by watching him play it's obvious that he has a great mind control which as a result gives him an outstanding control of his emotions while on play. During a match there are lots of ups and downs and huge pressure. The player who has the strongest mind can win an equal opponent who does not have the same mind strength.
A strong mind is important for not getting overwhelmed with emotions like anxiety, fear or over-excitement, which can lead to a loss of concentration.

How many times have you failed in doing something that you wanted because of anxiety, fear or over-excitement?
Mind discipline is not something that you have or do not have. It's something you can develop. Work with yourself, become an observer of your thoughts and emotions and control them on demand (details on a future post).
This will give you a boost and help you work towards your desired outcomes with more confidence!

Lesson 5 - Coach & Mentor

Roger has a team of coaches (tennis, fitness, physio, etc) which he works with, discusses any thoughts and concerns with, and takes advice from. He could never have achieved the level of success he did so far, without the support and assistance of his team.

Every person on earth, no matter his/her talents and strengths, can perform better and achieve more with the help of the right people...
Who do you go for advice when you feel confused and uncertain? Do you try to solve and achieve everything by yourself?
I am not necessarily telling you to go hire a coach or mentor!
Having people you respect and admire in your life, people whom you value their point of view, is really important.
Though, make sure that the people you go for support to, are people with knowledge on the subject that concerns you...
Don't go to your friend who is divorced 3 times to ask for help on how to keep your marriage alive! I think you get my point here ;)

The more you put these lessons in application in your life, the more life will be generous to you (check a very interesting post from my friend @iliasdiamantis, which can help you even more on having the right mindset).

Closing this post I will say nothing more than huge congratulations and respect to the one and only Roger Federer for his historical achievement and wishing to everyone to start learning from this legend and apply these lessons in our lives!

Until the next time be happy, smile and enjoy life!

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