9.12 Madison Keys: Be Brave

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“I just kept saying, ‘Be brave.’ And, ‘Go for it.’ … I went after it, every single point. And if I missed it and I just didn’t execute, I could live with that. I didn’t want to have any sort of regret that I was passive and I missed.”  - Madison Keys

Can you live with and move on from mistakes, or does the fear of failure leave you passive or paralyzed?

Every coach and parent wants a confident, brave, courageous athlete who knows it’s not about being perfect but trying to be the best you can be.

This requires being willing to try new things and make mistakes, fail, learn from it, and bounce back and try again.

Madison Keys is a professional tennis player, known for having a powerful serve and a strong forehand. She once said, “I just kept saying, ‘Be brave.’ And, ‘Go for it.’ … I went after it, every single point. And if I missed it and I just didn’t execute, I could live with that. I didn’t want to have any sort of regret that I was passive and I missed.”

If you want to be great, you can’t hold back, even under pressure. even under pressure. In sports (and life), hesitation often leads to mistakes or missed chances.

Instead of playing safe or tentative, accept the risk of failure in order to give yourself the best chance to succeed. Failure from bravery feels better than failure from hesitation.

It’s better to act boldly and possibly fail than to hold back and always wonder what could have happened.

Question of the Day: When pressure is on, how can you choose to go for it with confidence rather than choosing to play it safe—even if it means risking mistakes?

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