Repeat After Me..........

For those of you who don't know Edinburgh, a beautiful parkland lies to the south of the city centre called The Meadows.

I often walk up Middle Meadow Walk to the city, and just where various paths intersect, there is a Big Issue seller. Now you actually hear him about 100 metres away with his cry of "Can I interest you in the Big Issue". However, because he repeats this call at least twice a minute, to the uninformed it sounds more like "in stress you in big shoe" - so you might think he's some sort of footwear specialist.

In Dundee, in the 60's, I recall a dusky man in a grey raincoat and bonnet, who stood at the foot of Reform Street. Every few seconds he would shout "Telly Telly Graf". Now you might think he was announcing the arrival of Steffi on the tennis scene - but in fact he was selling the Dundee Evening Telegraph.

I once read that if you stood in front of a mirror and repeated "you are so handsome" over and over again then eventually you would look like George Clooney. Well it's not worked for me so far but I do believe in this theory.

Psychological research has shown that repetitive negative self talk is associated with losing. So in tennis, there is great value in repeating to yourself that you are a fine player, rather than constantly thinking "my backhand is rubbish". In simple terms don't think what you mustn't do or shouldn't do - think what you "could", "can" or "will" do!!

So for the guys out there, repeat after me...............

"I can serve like Federer!"

"I can hit forehands like Federer"

"I have a bank balance like Federer"

Ah now we're dreaming......................