The Inner Game of Stress: Outsmart Life's Challenges and Fulfill Your Potential

Inner Game

by W. Timothy Gallwey, Edd Hanzelik, John Horton

A unique and empowering resource to overcoming stress and stabilizing your mental health in today’s volatile world—part of the bestselling Inner Game series, with more than one million copies sold!

“Tim Gallwey is one of the great teachers of our time. In this day, when many talk of accelerating learning in organizations but few have actually done it, the words of a master are timely indeed.”—Peter M. Senge, author of The Fifth The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization
 
Renowned sports psychology expert W. Timothy Gallwey teams up with two esteemed physicians to present an invaluable guide for managing everyday stress. Gallwey explains how negative self-talk undermines us and leaves us feeling helpless and unhappy—and he shows that we have the means to build a shield against stress using our abilities to take childlike pleasure in learning new skills, which can help us rest, relax, and trust our own judgement. 
 
With his trademark mix of case histories and interactive worksheets, Gallwey helps us tap into our inner strengths with these practical

• the STOP technique : Learn how to Step back, Think, Organize, and Proceed with a more conscious choice process, even in the most chaotic circumstances.
• the Attitude tool : If you’re feeling resentment, try gratitude.
• the Magic Pen : Develop the ability to open up your intuition and wisdom.
• the Transpose exercise : Imagine what the other person thinks, feels, wants—and develop empathy, kindness, and better relationship skills.
• the PLE triangle : Use your goals for Performance, Learning, and Experience to redefine success and enhance enjoyment.

You don’t have to be an athlete to keep your life in perspective and your performance at its peak. A one-of-a kind guide, The Inner Game of Stress allows anyone to get in the game and win.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Self Help, Health, Audiobook, Personal Development

240 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2009

About the author

W. Timothy Gallwey is an author who has written a series of books in which he has set forth a methodology for coaching and for the development of personal and professional excellence in a variety of fields that he calls "the Inner Game". Since he began writing in the 1970s, his books include The Inner Game of Tennis, The Inner Game of Golf, The Inner Game of Music (with Barry Green), Inner Skiing and The Inner Game of Work. Gallwey's seminal work is The Inner Game of Tennis, with more than one million copies in print.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Listen, I want Goodreads to know I am neither a yes-man nor a naysayer. I didn't like this book. You can keep sending me free books or not, but it's like That.

I would easily have chucked the entire first half of this book; the practical exercises and any usefulness at all come in the second half.

His writing is unoriginal and derivative; he steals wholeheartedly from Buddhism yet never mentions or credits it as a spiritual discipline. He even pokes fun at Zen.

The style is uneven, horribly pompous and overwritten in some spots, simplified to the point of moronic in other spots. Did two people write this? One of them needs a more heavy-handed editor. And please, know your audience. Maybe years ago that Tennis book appealed to the golf and tennis Country Club set, but it's educated, professional working stiffs like me looking for advice, not Your Friend The Doctor or Your Friend The Corporate Exec, jeesh!

Stilted, dull, uninspired like it was rushed into print. Compulsive use of qualifiers, everything is "very". And choking overuse of the franchise-preserving phrase "The Inner Game" made me retch.

Nothing at all new here, he's kind of late to the party for an Inner Peace type book. Topical references like "Miracle on the Hudson" don't validate any of this.

Go get yourself a nice Pema Chodron if you want Peace.

And the cover art? A good concept, poorly executed. In fact, when I glance at it out of the corner of my eye (as I did all weekend when the book was sitting on my coffee table) the design looks like nothing so much as a squiggly pile of dog poop. See? Now you think so, too.

[Denis Vasilev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Неплохая книга про стресс, крайне похожая на его предыдущие как по смыслу, так и по советам.

[Diana Buliga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing toola to know yourself and reduce stress

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads and I really enjoyed it. I found I was already using some of their tools form the toolbox portion of the book and I found at least 2 more tools that I will use in the future.

The best thing about this book is it does not read like a textbook or a paper. It's like having a conversation with the author. I also enjoyed reading the examples from the two doctors who contributed to the book. Real life examples really hit home.

This book is broken into three parts - 1. The Game of Stress, 2. Outsmarting Stress, 3. The Inner Game Toolbox.

In the first part of this book it talks about self 1 and self 2. Self 1 is the stress maker - the voice in your head that creates the running commentary either good or bad. Self 2 is your natural, creative, talented self that doesn't need the running commentary. I really didn't how much the stress maker really plays a role in my life and how I really need to stop listening and just be.

Part 2 talks about prioritizing your life so you may enjoy it. Life is about enjoyment and if your not enjoying yourself what really is the point? Through ACT - Awareness, Choice, and Trust you can can then find your foundation to get you through stressful times. It seems really simple, but when you're on auto-pilot it's hard to capture the awareness and make choices that will get you through in the future.

Part 3 is the some tools to get help you reduce your stress. I personally liked the first 2 best. Stop and Being the CEO. Stop means when your in the moment - stopping and taking a step back and getting your thoughts organzied before your respond. How many times do we shoot from the hip when confronted or when someone says a remark off the cuff to us. Being CEO is taking control of your life and making decisions. As the CEO what do I want, where to I want to go, how do I want my life to precede... then you can decide. I think taking back control and enjoying your life is really the key to this book.

I've already started down this road of saying no to too many obligations and promises and not taking things so seriously, so it was nice to have it clearly written out and to learn some new tools to stop listening to the stress maker.

Thank you Random House and Goodreads for a very nice book.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if I would have read this book if I had not received it for free, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. I've never read another book dealing with how to eliminate and/or reduce stress in your life, and I think this book did an excellent job explaining ways that stress manifests itself in our bodies, techniques we can employ to reduce our stress levels, and ways to gauge our progress.

There is apparently a whole series of Inner Game books, and the main author is a tennis coach who's used this "Inner Game" technique to help people improve their game on the court. Though this book was focused on stress and co-written with two doctors who give examples from their medical practices, there were a number of instances where the author used tennis as an example, and I imagine that a lot of description of what, exactly, the "Inner Game" means was similar to previous books in this series. That said, I really liked the concept that we all have two selves inside us, one self that can do things and one self that doubts our ability to do these things, which makes us second guess and doubtful. The trick is to properly balance these two selves to get our stress levels in check.

The exercises the author suggests to reduce stress - and therefore reduce or eliminate physical symptoms of stress - seem simple enough, although it would certainly be a challenge to put them all into play and keep them that way. A few tricks in particular, such as writing down all the requests made of us during a day and how they made us feel to determine if saying "yes" to requests is causing one to feel burdened and overworked, seemed like terrific starting points for certain people I know with this particular problem.

I don't know if I'd say there was anything revolutionary in The Inner Game of Stress, but I think it definitely served its purpose of making the reader aware of everyday stress and knowledgeable about how to fight this problem. It was easy to read, concise, and accessible. I did not do all the exercises suggested in this book, but I did think about a few of the suggestions, and they have - so far - all been great. If you feel frazzled or stressed out, this is a book I'd recommend, so long as you actually take its advice to heart!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me begin by saying I'm not a big fan of self help books. I think most of them say what we already know, and are therefore a waste of money; however, this book may help you realize what you don't know, or believe what you do.

Every morning when I come to work, my stomach starts to ache and rumble and becomes bloated. I told one of my closest friends and he suggested I go see a gastroenterologist, which I've been saying I would do but never had a chance to. My mother, on the other hand, said it had something to do with stress. Of course, I didn't believe her. Since when does stress cause physical pain and discomfort?? Apparently, since always. Timothy Gallwey, with the aide of real patient case notes gathered from two brilliant doctors, describes how stress can and will cause physical symptoms. Stress can kill, believe it or not.

Gallwey presents a variety of tools and exercises we can use to overcome whatever difficulties are keeping you from being happy. I used the STOP technique to notice what I'm doing when my discomfort arises, I've realized it only occurs when I'm at work. It makes sense because I don't like my job. In fact, I feel like the only person I'm helping is my cheap, selfish, inconsiderate boss and I've always said I wanted to make a difference in the lives of many ... not just one greedy bastard.

It's amazing to see how "The Inner Game" can help you improve your swing in tennis, your score in golf and your overall happiness in life. I highly recommend it for anyone who is dealing with stress or anyone who wants to have a better outlook on life.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book from Goodreads. It is a very practical and easy read with ideas that are easily applied to every day life. I know one reader didn't like it because it didn't attribute some of the techniques to Buddhism, yet I liked the book. It is not normally the type of book I would have picked up off of the shelves at a bookstore. I will re-read it, though, and will also recommend to family, friends, and coworkers.

[Heather Lahtinen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, found the stories extremely enlightening, and the tools helpful. Highly recommend.

[Magda Bunea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, the matter of fact, I was the one the publisher asked to translate this very useful book on human life, in general. Previously, I translated, in 2008, a fundamental book for coaching from the Australian school of coaching `The Complete Guide to Coaching at Work` by Perry Zeus, Suzanne Skiffington - and coaching pioneers in Romania acknowledge that my translation was very good for settle a professional vocabulary for this new industry in Romania. The Romanian edition was very much appreciated due to rare (editor`s word :) ) sense of language, both in Romanian and English, but also that I was one of the first 20 persons who participated to certified ICF training, and who practice coaching in Romania.

A short, but dense review of the book. an excerpt here:
Timothy Gallwey şi-a dat seama că dialogul exterior, dintre el şi elev, este internalizat şi acţionează ca metodă de control, iar prin aceasta blochează calităţile naturale şi totodată abate concentrarea atenţiei de la prestaţia propriu-zisă la respectarea regulilor impuse.
Acest dialog interior se ducea între două voci – Gallwey le-a numit Eul 1, vocea care dă comenzi şi emite judecăţi, şi Eul 2, cea cu care vorbeşte şi care reprezintă, de fapt, pe cel care joacă în teren. În mod paradoxal, acest ”joc interior” ţinea fiinţa umană în afara ei înseşi, o oprea să se identifice cu ceea ce era cu adevărat, întrerupea starea de excelenţă continuă, cufundarea în sine, bucuria de a fi deplin.

p=P-i
Potenţialul (P) persoanei respective este împiedicat să îşi dea măsura reală a performanţei (p) înnăscute, de către aceste interferenţe (i) evaluative, preluate de Eul 1 din exteriorul individului. Astfel, se distorsionează imagine de sine, care, la rândul ei, distorsionează percepţia realităţii, făcând ca persoana să răspundă distorsionat şi astfel să ducă la consolidarea imaginii de sine distorsionate – iar acest ciclu al interferenţei se repetă.

Jocul interior – cale mai bună pentru schimbare”Aha, mi-am zis, e vorba de ceva empiric - nu e filozofie pe care să o cred, e ceva ce pot învăţa, pot recunoaşte, pot valida în şi prin mine însumi.”
From here> http://coaching2success.blogspot.com/...

[Gwen Skrzat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the latest offering from best-selling author Tim Gallwey. It's easy to read, enjoyable, well illustrated and full of anecdotes. He wrote it together with two good friends who are MDs, so it contains a lot of information about the biological aspects of stress, written in a way that everybody can understand. The crux of the book is the underlying philosophy that living in chronic stress should not be an option for our lives, and that in order to live lives that aren't marred by stress we need to take some simple steps to build stability in our lives. The book goes through those steps in clear language and encourages the reader to pick and choose what tools to use and how to apply them for a more stable stress free life.

The authors have been doing seminars for years, based on the principles of this book. I attended one several years ago and found that not only was the material pertinent and very helpful, but it was well received by the audience who found that applying the principles really made a difference in their lives. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't benefit from reading this book. It's certainly changed my life!

[Lacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great self-help book that does not wallow in the trials and tribulations of life but rather points the reader forward toward a life that manages stress so that you can fulfill your greatest potential. Stocked full of great ideas and exercises to make you the CEO of your own life, Gallwey's book is extremely inspiring and helpful if you're having problems managing the stress that comes from too many demands on your time or even if you just need a few tips to better manage already well managed stress. Written in easy to understand language, I think most people, even those who do not turn to self-help books, will walk away from this book with a few more tools in their stress management toolbox.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The Inner Game of Tennis at the recommendation of my tennis coach several years back. I remember enjoying it so I was excited to receive this book from a giveaway here at GoodReads. I wasn't disappointed. I read this book in just a few days and completed the exercises along the way. It never felt like work, but I still felt like I learned a lot about myself and about stress. The writing was never technical, but the case studies and medical information were a great compliment to the theories and ideas about stress that were presented throughout the book.

[Bhumi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from the First Reads giveaway.

A good book. It was really inspiring, and I enjoyed reading the real-life examples, which were easy to relate to. I especially liked the Patient Files. For the most part, the techniques introduced in the book were practical, except for the parts when the reader was told to write things down and make a list. However, overall, it was still a very interesting book that I enjoyed reading.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although most of what was written seemed like common sense to me, there was a lot of very interesting information. The book offered a fresh and different perspective on stress management.

[Akhil Jain · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fav quotes (not a review):
"I told Molly that the serve was like a dance, and she could count the cadence of my motion. She watched me, chanting, “da, da, Da,” while I hit about five serves. Then I asked her to imagine in her mind’s eye herself serving, and to continue saying “da, da, Da” in time with her image of herself serving."
"Next, I asked Molly simply to listen carefully to the sound of the ball on her racquet without saying “bounce-hit.” When it came time for the backhand, I instructed her to just “listen on this side for a while.” Which she did, while developing a better and better backhand stroke, without even knowing she was hitting “backhands.” Meanwhile, I was hitting balls to her from the back of the court, increasing the challenge as I saw she was keeping her focus. I never complimented her for a good shot nor gave any indication that something was wrong with shots she didn’t hit over the net."

"When a player sees a “bad shot” fly off her racquet, the final step in the cycle occurs: Self 1 says, “I have a terrible backhand,” confirming the distortion which led her into a self-fulfilling prophecy in the first place. The next backhand is now going to look like an even greater threat."
"Clearly, this Uh-oh cycle can be re-created in situations that have nothing to do with tennis. Imagine the Uh-oh cycles triggered by an angry boss, a disobedient child, a nagging spouse, a difficult problem, a plunge in the stock market, another project piled onto an already full to-do list, an opposite opinion, a personal loss, or any unexpected change. All are external events that are, in effect, flying toward you, which can easily be perceived as threats and set the Uh-oh cycle in motion. On the other hand, they might also be perceived as focused challenges that enhance concentration and inspire a creative response."

"Then the same cycle becomes a learning experience—an “Ah-ha!” instead of an “Uh-oh.”"

"But then I said, “I can see why you don’t like that stroke, but what I don’t know is how you’d like to hit it.” He began to explain, “Well I’d like it to be more powerful …” I cut him off, saying, “No, don’t tell me, show me. Show me how you’d like to hit the ball some day, and then maybe I can coach you toward that goal.” David took my request seriously, and he started to show me."

"coaching tennis, if a student was hitting the ball off center, instead of analyzing why the ball was not hitting in the middle of the racquet I simply asked the player to be aware of where the ball was hitting the racquet without trying to make any change. Without the player’s making any effort to control other than to be aware of where the ball hit the racquet, the balls would start clustering toward its center. Why? Awareness itself would inform Self 2 of what felt better, sounded better, and flew off the racquet better."

[Du · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Inner Game of Stress is kind of a weird book. It's simultaneously unhelpful and helpful at the same time and I have a hard time making up my mind how useful it is for me.
The Inner Game of Stress follows Gallwey's other and more known book, The Inner Game of Tennis. This Inner Game franchise essentially builds upon Gallwey's thesis that there we have a duality in us, a Self 1 and a Self 2. Self 1 criticizes, judges, reasons. It's the conscious part of our brain. Self 2 is the one who does things. So something of a subconscious. Gallwey's method is to let Self 2 drive more of the time instead of always using Self 1. Let Self 1 set a direction, let Self 2 get you there.
This is the same model used to describe stress. Throughout the book the model is applied to stress and then some tools are given to deal with stress. The tools are nothing that can't be found in other self-help books and shares a lot of overlap with modern CBT and stoicism (stop the automatic loops, reframe situations etc.) so the advice is valid enough I feel. On the other hand the book pushes the Inner Game thing too much and feels very unscientific as anecdotes and the association of two doctors are apparently the proof that it works.
It's an interesting book though I think the Inner Game of Tennis was more profound somehow, reading that and extrapolating out myself feels to be more valuable than reading this book. Perhaps I've read so many of the similar books that I can't really be surprised of any of the content anymore, it's merely a different way to tell me what I already know, in that case it's not a completely useless read.

[RM · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read the Inner Game of Tennis (highly recommended), I expected the same quality and depth. I am left greatly disappointed. Perhaps partly due to it being written more than 10 years ago (new and more elaborate research exists today), the book reads shallow and simply fails to deliver both in message and in writing. It is the first book in a while which I had to skim through at times because it is so superficially written that is perhaps best recommended for the very young who are just starting off their journey in reading. It doesn’t look like the authors had any serious time to write this book.

[Franz Schrepf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the quick succession of patient stories which highlight the importance of each lesson the authors share.

In terms of tools, there are several useful concepts that will definitely stick with me, like:

- “Freedom of vs. freedom for”
- “The inner game Triangle: Performance, Learning, Enjoyment”
- “the magic pen technique”

If you suffer from chronic stress, it’s a highly recommended read. In terms of the inner game techniques, there are some new elements outlined above but it didn’t blow my mind quite the same way as the first book “The inner game of tennis”.

[A Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The good-
Filled with great information and ways to put it to use.

The bad-

The author is a self promoter. While it's a skill that helps authors to be successful it gets in the way of the information at times. It'd be nice if the Author was a background character instead of a forground character.

You have to figure out how to put the information to use.

The ???

It takes a little sifting to get to the good stuff, but it's worth the effort.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. If you’ve read The Inner Game of Tennis - you already know basics of the Inner Game.

In this book, Timothy Gallwey applies the Inner Game principles to managing stress. Worth reading, particularly if you’re a fan, or haven’t read his first book and want to understand how the thinker and the doer contribute to the quality of our performance in any area of our lives.

[anonparticularfracture · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raising awareness about the simultaneous presence of inner and outer stress is indeed worthwhile, even though it has been previously emphasized in various approaches, including philosophy and literature.

The book has garnered my simple sympathy. I would rate it 3/5, which I believe is an honest assessment.

[mike j weisner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent read

Found the information provided to be helpful with my current stress issues. I plan on rereading the tools section and making reminders for myself for use in everyday stressful moments.

[Norent Khy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Characteristics of this book:
- Good metaphors are used to introduce very useful tools.
- It is not so much philosophical, but rather very practical!
- I did not feel judged by this book.
- It was easy to read for me.

Me gusto, I recommend, mucho.

[Chirag Donga · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book.. If you are about to join corporate life or presently in corporate life, then it's must book to read.. Such a great insight about stress i ever read...

[Bernardo Bz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that unravels what life is really about, and a simpler approach to it. Uses practical examples all throughout the book and kept me wanting to read and implement what I learned.

[Beverly Diehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit, as I prepared to go to a first very important conference, I was really feelin' the stress. Had been for some months ahead of time. So I called on this book to help me sort that out, and you know what, it truly helped.

The Inner Game of Stress offers all kinds of tools to reset our perception of something being stressful - or not. To shut down that horrible Self 1, aka the Stress Maker, the voice that can (if we let it) keep up a constant barrage of negative, stress-inducing inner dialogue.

This book is one I am going to periodically reread. I was so nervous about that conference, certain that a single misstep would forever ruin any possible writing career. By re-envisioning it as one of many conferences I am sure to attend, and a tremendous opportunity, I actually had fun and a successful pitch. It won't be the first, nor the last time I will need to put the Stress Maker in her place, I am sure.

[Writing Goddess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit, as I prepared to go to a first very important business meeting, I was really feelin' the stress. Had been for some months ahead of time. So I called on this book to help me sort that out, and you know what, it truly helped.

The Inner Game of Stress offers all kinds of tools to reset our perception of something being stressful - or not. To shut down that horrible Self 1, aka the Stress Maker, the voice that can (if we let it) keep up a constant barrage of negative, stress-inducing inner dialogue.

This book is one I am going to periodically reread. I was so nervous about that conference, certain that a single misstep would forever ruin my career. By re-envisioning it as one of many conferences I am sure to attend, and a tremendous opportunity, I actually had fun. It won't be the first, nor the last time I will need to put the Stress Maker in her place, I am sure.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Gallway's sports/life balance comparison and found the inner book of tennis to be an invaluable book to deal with body/mind/spirit connections, not just on the court.

So I read this one on my kindle in between running round teaching classes. True to his basic premise in all of his inner-game books this one didn't surprise, but I found the tools to be well-delivered and with many positive, inspiring examples of people making changes to their stress levels and benefiting on all levels.

If you like "self-help" that adds some smart life connections and isn't corny then this is a good use of reading time.

[Kacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realized while I read this book that I don't have a very stressful life. The thing that stresses me out the most is my kids, so maybe I need to read some parenting books. It was a good book though. I liked that at the end of each section, there were exercises so you could practice the technique or idea they just talked about. There were some really good ideas that I would definitely use in a stressful situation.

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read, practical book with tools to combat stress. Many types of stress included, including end of life and aging problems. The author includes many true-to-life situations and shows how stress was resolved using their tools. While not especially original or inspiring, it nevertheless is a comprehensive look at the psychological side of stress. Diet and exercise are mentioned, but only as suggestions.