Another Life Lesson from Tennis

Another great Wimbledon Men's Final!! Last year it was Federer vs Nadal, and this year it was Federer vs Roddick.
Andy Roddick played a fantastic match. In fact, he seemed more consistent than Federer over the whole match. There were only two small moments where Roddick made mistakes that turned the tide. The first was in the second set tiebreak, which will be written about a lot and second, of course, the final point where Roddick's serve was finally broken.
I would have felt bad for either player to have lost. In the final set, Roddick served second so he was always 'catching up'. He had to maintain focus and determination while fighting just to stay even. I have admiration for him.
And Federer was gong for a record-breaking 15 Grand Slam Championships.

Here's something I don't understand...Top level athletes have learned to be so in control of their emotions during a match, I wonder why they get so sad and upset if they lose. I mean, I would too, but I don't have their mental determination. I would imagine that if they can teach themselves to shrug off a mistake during a match, they'd be able to shrug off a loss. I'm always surprised that its not as easy as I'd think. Then again, they do start competing again so its not like it takes them completely out - maybe its unrealistic to expect them to get over it so quickly.

The life lesson I learned in this match:
In the 25th game of the 5th set, Roddick slipped a bit on the torn up turf, Roger, we assume, took his eye off the ball just long enough to notice Roddick - and then missed his next volley.
The key to life, and a winning tennis game, is that you have to keep your eye on the ball while at the same time be aware of your opponent. You can't focus exclusively on your opponent or you'll never hit the ball. You can't focus exclusively on the ball or you won't anticipate your opponent's moves. Its a balancing act. Very tough.
The same is true in life. Its important to stay focused on the goal, but be aware of my 'opponent'. In life the environment isn't strictly competitive, so the 'opponent' might be less obvious. My opponent could be fear, laziness, or frustration. It might even be the current economic climate, or a specific project.
In any event, success can be found when I find the right balance of focus and awareness; focus on the goal, awareness of the surrounding environment.