When the epic Wimbledon Final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer concluded, many people were wondering whether they had just witnessed the greatest tennis match in history. Even though Rafael Nadal won the first two sets and looked like he was on his way to a tiebreak victory in the fourth set, Federer fought back in a way that only great champions can. After winning the past five Wimbledon championships, Federer looked as though he would make it six. However, Nadal did something remarkable, overcoming nerves and darkness to defeat perhaps the best grass court tennis player of all time.
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While most tennis experts were wondering whether they had seen history, I was thinking about the match in a much different way. After Federer forced a fifth set, it appeared that it would be next to impossible for Nadal to squeak out a win. After all, Federer had never lost at Wimbledon and Nadal only seemed to have luck against him on the slow clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris. However, as Nadal did on Sunday, some people learn how to overcome mental fatigue and learn to perform their best under pressure.
The cognitive model theory in psychology, popularized by Aaron Beck, states that a person’s core beliefs become automatic thoughts later in life, that tend to pop up during everyday life in response to certain situations. Often times, these automatic thoughts are learned during a child’s social development, meaning that parents often have a large role on how their children behave as adults. This is part of the reason Tiger Woods has become extremely mentally tough in situations where most people would fold. As a child, Tiger Woods was taught things by his father that made his learn to block out distractions and focus on what needed to be done
. The same can be said about Nadal, who learned to play his free-swinging style from his father under extreme circumstances.
When people have compulsive disorders, such as OCD, they are often treated through the means of classical conditioning and habituation. This process allows people to become more comfortable with what bothers them by presenting stimuli and eliminating the person’s escape response. When people learn to confront distractions at an early age, it is often much easier for the reaction to become automatic as they get older. For example, it is much easier for children to get over their fears than adults because they don’t rely as heavily on their escape response.
Woods and Nadal were presented with negative stimuli while competing at an early age which made them better prepared for difficult situations later in life. The key is to make your mind respond to abnormal situations in an automatic way. This response becomes easier for the body to employ when it has been habituated to receiving the stimulus. As Nadal showed, the pressure of the Wimbledon final didn’t bother him in the way that it would for most young players. He was able to block out all of the distractions and concentrate on the game he was confident in. The result was a win over the greatest grass court player of the modern era and a place in the history books.
While most tennis experts were wondering whether they had seen history, I was thinking about the match in a much different way. After Federer forced a fifth set, it appeared that it would be next to impossible for Nadal to squeak out a win. After all, Federer had never lost at Wimbledon and Nadal only seemed to have luck against him on the slow clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris. However, as Nadal did on Sunday, some people learn how to overcome mental fatigue and learn to perform their best under pressure.
The cognitive model theory in psychology, popularized by Aaron Beck, states that a person’s core beliefs become automatic thoughts later in life, that tend to pop up during everyday life in response to certain situations. Often times, these automatic thoughts are learned during a child’s social development, meaning that parents often have a large role on how their children behave as adults. This is part of the reason Tiger Woods has become extremely mentally tough in situations where most people would fold. As a child, Tiger Woods was taught things by his father that made his learn to block out distractions and focus on what needed to be done
. The same can be said about Nadal, who learned to play his free-swinging style from his father under extreme circumstances.When people have compulsive disorders, such as OCD, they are often treated through the means of classical conditioning and habituation. This process allows people to become more comfortable with what bothers them by presenting stimuli and eliminating the person’s escape response. When people learn to confront distractions at an early age, it is often much easier for the reaction to become automatic as they get older. For example, it is much easier for children to get over their fears than adults because they don’t rely as heavily on their escape response.
Woods and Nadal were presented with negative stimuli while competing at an early age which made them better prepared for difficult situations later in life. The key is to make your mind respond to abnormal situations in an automatic way. This response becomes easier for the body to employ when it has been habituated to receiving the stimulus. As Nadal showed, the pressure of the Wimbledon final didn’t bother him in the way that it would for most young players. He was able to block out all of the distractions and concentrate on the game he was confident in. The result was a win over the greatest grass court player of the modern era and a place in the history books.
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