4.26 Naomi Osaka: Stay Calm

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“I feel like I play better when I'm calm. There is an inner peace I can tap into sometimes during my matches.” - Naomi Osaka

Do you know how to stay calm in the face of pressure?

One of the most important things that I have learned is how to stay calm in big moments. When I look at the best coaches and athletes, they seem to have a balance between fiery competitors and calm and present when it matters most. They are able to find and use the right energy at the right time.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka is a good example of this. Naomi is the first Asian player to hold the number one ranking in women’s tennis, and after winning a major tournament victory, she started displaying visible signs of intense irritation, frustration, and anger that hurt her performance.

Naomi worked on managing her emotions, and her increased focus led her to more victories.

After winning the Australian Open, Naomi said, “During the US Open, I didn’t show any emotions most of the time. But then after that, I did show — well, in my opinion, it was a lot of emotions. I got upset, and then I threw my racket or stuff like that. And, for me, I don’t really want to do that. I feel like I play better when I’m calm. There is an inner peace I can tap into sometimes during my matches. So that’s just something that I’m trying to learn how to do consistently.”

The best know how to manage their emotions so they are high and/or low when needed, and they don’t allow negative emotions to overtake them.

Question of the Day: How well do you manage your emotions?

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