Writers read a lot of things about our craft, and often self-help (a term I've always disliked) articles and books are among them. Many writers tend to suffer from imposter syndrome, where you question your ability as a writer rather than just write and get better. Nobody is born a writer, just like nobody is born a pickleball player. We all have to work at it. 

The book I came across recently is about setting goals that are 10 times greater than you think you can achieve. Why? A goal that's 10X greater provides the impetus—the motivation—to invest the effort it will take to get you to that goal. Without this 10X goal setting, you won't have the energy and other resources to overcome the setbacks that are sure to occur (sick kids, the need to travel, etc.).

I've written other articles about the mind game and how it affects your performance in pickleball. Most players set their pickleball goal to reach the next level, say from 2.0 to 2.5 or 3.0. Once that level is reached, they focus on the next goal. Ultimately, most fail to get beyond 3.0 or 3.5. What might have happened if they'd focused on 5.0? 

Grant Cardone, author of The 10X Rule, is the world's #1 sales trainer, radio and television personality, social media influencer, and real estate mogul. He brings his success strategies to millions of people at huge events a la Tony Robbins. Although it's a business book, The 10X Rule can give you the confidence and drive to supercharge your pickleball training.

Cardone rejects the idea of incremental targets (like 3.5), saying, "If you start any task with a mind toward limiting the potential outcome, you will limit the actions necessary to accomplish that very goal." Ultimately, Cardone says you must set a goal that is 10X greater than what you think you want. Then you must do 10X more than you think it will take to accomplish that goal.

I bet you're thinking this is ridiculous, because you can't be rated 10X more highly than where you are now. But you're ignoring the mindset that will get you to any higher level. Following this strategy, even if you never make it to 5.0 or become a master pickleball tournament winner, you'll have achieved much more than if you only tried to reach 3.5.

With any goal, we are optimistic and tend to underestimate the amount of effort and time that will be necessary to complete it. Obstacles get in the way. We lose focus. All of this is a natural part of the process. The optimistic attitude leads people to miscalculate the amount of effort and time required, and our plans usually ignore possible challenges altogether. When we fail, we typically set the bar lower. What we should do is work even harder.

The process Cardone (and others) recommends is to write down your goal(s). To do this, you must first identify what you want. Is your desire to play in a local tournament? Then make that bigger: you want to win local pickleball tournaments while rising to a 5.0 Master rating.

Putting your goal in writing is important. Write it in present tense, as if you've already achieved it: "I am a 5.0 Master-rated pickleball player who consistently wins tournaments." Like an affirmation that will become ingrained as a belief, write it twice a day (morning and night). (I've read other places that you ought to say it out loud with conviction, too.)

All of this may sound silly, but a famed Harvard study about goal-setting asked MBA program participants, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” Most (84%) had no specific goals, 13% had goals but hadn't put them in writing, and only 3% had written goals. Ten years later, the 13% with unwritten goals earned twice as much as the 84% with no goals. The 3% with written goals earned 10X more than all the rest put together.

Will writing and speaking your goals get you there? Of course not—not that alone. Add these tools to your arsenal of routines. You'll have lots of hard work and practice to do. But with an idea of where you're headed, you're much more likely  to get there. And, since you're aiming higher, you'll go farther, too. ​

If you go back through my blog posts here or on my other blogs, you might notice something odd. You won't see many of these:

Recently, I was contacted by Associated Press (AP), or actually the group that polices their photo licensing. Long story short, Back in 2015, I included a photo of a person playing pickleball in a post I wrote. I included a caption listing the name of the photographer who owns the copyright. I didn't realize he'd licensed the photo to AP. They charged me a hefty fee for not having paid the license all those years. 

The moral here is to check and double-check that photos you include in your blogs or Facebook posts. I'm sure the fact that I included his name as copyright holder was the flag that "got me caught." That doesn't mean you should assume you're okay if you post and say nothing. I'm sure bots are busy searching for all kinds of infringements all the time. 

I've nothing against licenses for photos—that's how photographers and companies like AP get paid. But pay attention to the fine print. Otherwise, you, too, might be enjoying hot dogs and tomato soup a lot more often. :-)

With the pickleball courts closed during this period of enforced social isolation, I've seen the pickleball players in my community do some innovative things: one couple cleared their porch of furniture and set up a makeshift net using PVC pipes and cardboard. Others did the same in cul-de-sacs and covertly against walls of buildings after hours.

We've discovered that, yes, there is life after pickleball, though it's not as much fun. People are taking up long-abandoned projects, cleaning out garages and kitchens, and working hard to be safe. 

But one aspect of your pickleball game doesn't have to stop when you can't get to the court. Many of you have read my previous posts regarding the mental game—this is one more. Just as much as learning how to swing the paddle or learn the rules, your mental preparedness and attitude before you get to the court and while you're playing can make or break your game.

So you have lots of time now, right? Put it to good use! If you haven't already, start your mental workout today.

Whether you're new to pickleball or you're a champion, there are always parts of your game that could be improved. List those things (up to 3) and prioritize them in the order you'd like them fixed. Now, list methods or strategies that will help you improve the number one item on your "to do" list. (Don't toss the number 2 and 3 items; simply concentrate on the first one until it is better. Then your second item will become your first, and so on.)

Perhaps your number one need for improvement is returning the ball low over the net. What things could you do to make that better? Find someone who can watch you return the ball and coach you to doing it better. If you have a ball machine where you play, some dedicated time returning shots would be good. Get a friend who also needs help or drilling and trade off time. Hit against a wall over a painted line and score points for every hit that stays within a 6" zone above it. (Reward yourself with something when you get enough points.) Read what other people have to say about that problem on the internet, and watch videos explaining how to do it better. (Videos are good because you can use mental imaging to see yourself doing it right, too.)

You get the idea. When the courts are open again, you'll have a plan to overcome your weakness. 

But don't ignore one other list that's equally important—maybe more so. List at least 5 things you do well in your pickleball games and practices. These can be minor or major (e.g., I dink well, I have patience, I hit a good backhand, I communicate clearly to my partner). Every day or night, look at this list and even state the items aloud. If you think of new things, add or replace them. The key here is accepting that, while your game could be improved, you also do things well on the court. Knowing those things and centering on positive thoughts can help your game in many ways.

Once you're back to playing on the courts, don't abandon your lists or the process of remaining positive. Your process of improvement is, in itself, a positive thing. Take just the one element and make it better, while reinforcing mentally all the good things you already do. 

 After my last post, reader and newer player Bill Gorback commented that he'd appreciate having more information about skills below 3.0 and what it takes to get there from novice status and above. I just so happen to have an older blog post that discusses what skills are necessary at each level. I'll repost it here for those who didn't see it way back in 2015. Bill, I hope this helps (see below). Also check out these posts that may be helpful:

• Skill Level Assessment in Pickleball
• Assessing Your Skill Level in Pickleball (a handy chart)

Pickleball Skill Level Assessment Definitions
(a composite document)

I looked at a number of the online documents about assessing skill levels in pickleball. I compared their lists and created a composite of the required skills for the levels from 1.0 to 5.0. 

Skill Level Rating Definitions

This list is a composite of several documents found on the Internet.

Level 1.0

• New—has minimal knowledge of the game. 

Level 1.5

• Has taken at least one beginner lesson
• Learning how to serve
• Developing a forehand
• Fails to return easy balls frequently
• Learning to play the game, scoring and some basic rules 

Level 2.0

• Has participated in novice and beginning skills practice
• Moves around the court in a balanced and safe manner
• Gets some serves “in”
• Realizes aspects of score-keeping, rules and where to stand on the court during serve, receive of serve, and general play
• Has some basic stroke skills, backhand, forehand, volley but has obvious weaknesses
• Familiar with where to stand in doubles play 

Level 2.5

• Able to serve “in” more regularly
• Knows the two bounce rule and demonstrates it most times
• Knows where to stand on the court during serve, serve receive and general play
• Is mastering keeping score
• Aware of the soft game and occasionally tries to dink
• Working on form for ground strokes, accuracy is variable
• Makes longer lasting slow paced rallies
• Sometimes lobs with forehand with varying degrees of success
• Beginning to approach the non-volley zone to hit volleys
• Court coverage is weak but is improving
• Knows fundamental rules and can keep score 

Level 3.0

• Working to keep the serve and serve receive deep
• Moves quickly towards the non-volley zone when opportunity is there
• Trying to make flatter returns (where appropriate)
• More aware of their partner’s position on the court and moving more as a team
• Developing more power in shots
• Beginning to attempt lobs and dinks with little success and doesn’t fully understand when and why they should be used
• Demonstrates improved skills with all the basic shot strokes and shot placement but lacks control when trying for direction, depth or power on shots 

Level 3.5

• Demonstrates a broad knowledge of the rules of the game
• Gets high majority of serves “in”
• Able to serve and return serve deep
• Hits to the weak side of opponent often
• Demonstrates more strategies of playing during games
• Works better with partners in communicating, covering court, moving to net
• With varying consistency executes: lobs, forehand/backhand ground strokes, overheads, net volleys, and sustained dinking
• Starting to use drop shots in order to get to the net
• Knows when to make some specific placed shots in the game
• Working on mixing up soft shots with power shots to create an advantage
• Hits fewer balls out of bounds or in the net
• Dinks mostly in opponents' kitchen and dinks lower over the net
• Able to sustain dinking in the game
• Has a moderate number of unforced errors 

Level 4.0

• Beginning to play more consistently in all phases of the game
• Anticipates opponents shots resulting in good court position
• Primarily plays offensively
• Controls and places serves and return of serves to best advantage
• Puts strategy into play in the game
• Consistently varies shots to create a competitive advantage
• Works and moves well with partner – easily switches court positions when required
• Very comfortable playing at the non-volley zone. Works with partner to control the line, keeping opponents back and driving them off line
• Can block volleys directed at them
• Has good footwork and moves laterally, backward and forward with ease
• Uses strategy in dinking to get a put-away shot
• Consistently executes effective drop shots
• Demonstrates 3rd shot strategies: drop shot, lobs and fast paced ground strokes
• Hits a low number of unforced errors per game 

Level 4.5

• Able to regularly convert a hard shot to a soft shot
• Exhibits patience at a superior level
• Shows noticeably increased skills, a higher level of strategy, quickness of hands and movement, judicious use of power, superior placement of shots, anticipation of play, sustained volleying skills, superior put-aways – all with consistency
• Understands strategy and can adjust style of play and game plan according to opponents strength and weaknesses and court position
• Beginning to master dink and drop shots
• Makes very few unforced errors 
  
  

Level 5.0

• Has mastered all skills and strategies
• Dependable in stressful situations
• Athletic ability, quickness, and agility separates these players