June 2009 -- Question: I struggle with the concept of inertia, because it is used in so many different contexts. Inertia is a term used in physics (and in tennis quite a bit), yet, it's also a term used in life. Can you help distinguish how inertia differs in the various contexts?
Answer: The timing of this question is perfect. I intend to return to answering the questions that you, our members have, about the technical, scientific and medical issues within the game. Even though
Tennis - for the health of it! SM allows us to discuss the science and medical issues related to tennis, I do believe we need to continue broadening this column to answer your specific questions. In that spirit, I am again asking you to send questions regarding the sports science and sports medicine issues of our great game. As always, if I don't know the answer, I will find experts to interview so you can receive the best possible answers to your questions. But, now let's go back to the question about inertia and how it is used in various contexts.
Inertia is used in numerous ways throughout the English language. Webster's Dictionary has several different definitions of inertia, ranging from the first law of motion to the indisposition of a person or organization to move, or indecisiveness in making needed changes in a failed (or failing) system.
We see inertia acting all around us! We see it in politics, in our family lives, in our businesses, in the game of tennis, and, yes, we see it as a part of the laws of physics and how it can be used to explain tennis stroke mechanics, as well as movement on the court.
Since the theories of physics are often used to explain how life works, let's take a look at the basic definition of inertia and apply it in the various contexts noted above. Sir Isaac Newton's first law of motion (also called the law of inertia) states that a body will stay at rest, or it will stay in motion, until acted upon by an outside force.
In our lives, professionally and personally, we can see stagnation (resting inertia) or we can see motion (which could be positive or negative). In our professional and volunteer lives, we might say that "getting caught up in politics" is a lack of forward movement. Likewise, activists would say they are involved in a "movement." Regardless of how it affects each of us, every part of life can serve as a microcosm of Newton's first law of motion. Dr. Bryant Bolin, a family physician in North Carolina and a USPTA member who is very fit and plays tennis several times per week, has been working diligently on behalf of
Tennis - for the health of it! In this regard, he struggles with the fact that an exercise "prescription" is not only difficult for doctors to provide, but also difficult for patients to follow.
And, it's all about inertia. Dr. Bolin states, "The exercise directive, while given routinely for prevention and treatment of almost every disease treated, largely falls on deaf ears; or is heard and ignored; or is understood, but simply not prioritized into one's lifestyle. We then, understandably, become disenchanted with the results to the point that the exercise prescription becomes buried under a pile of medicine prescriptions. As patients are very intuitive and pick up on a lot more than what we (physicians) say, maybe the unstated message is that we as care deliverers don't buy into the implementation of these ideas either, especially if we also happen to serve as bad personal examples." Dr. Bolin closed by stating, "Inertia is a powerful thing, and truly a challenge to work against."
Let me ask a few probing questions:
- How do we get politics in various areas of life (from world government to local volunteer work) to change?
- How do we make significant change occur in our own lives?
- How do we help a student who struggles with poor study habits to change his habits?
- How do we get all the various factions in the tennis industry to work together more cohesively?
- How do we help a tennis student improve her movement on the court?
- How do we improve a student's stroke production?
- How do we get medical doctors to more often prescribe tennis as an activity for improved health?
- How do we truly address the obesity and inactivity crisis in the world today?
Regarding inertia in government, the war on obesity, and even in tennis politics, remember: Bodies will stay at rest or they will stay moving in the same direction until acted upon by an outside force. This is where, in our sport, a personal agenda that benefits the individual, and not the game, can become a major problem!
For various governing bodies (yes, even in tennis) to truly work together, there has to be some sort of what I call "interruption." More academically, Clayton M. Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor, states in his book, "The Innovator's Prescription," that "disruptive innovation" can reinvent how we look at our world, in almost every aspect. By disruptive innovation, he refers to an unexpected new offering that, through price or quality improvements, turns a market or way of thinking on its head. So, there must be a catalyst that somehow "changes" the motion (or lack of motion) in what is currently happening.
I believe that Jim Loehr, USPTA Master Professional and incoming national Board of Directors member, has developed a significant method for affecting change or, in other words, altering the inertia of people, teams and organizations. He did this in his groundbreaking research on the "Power of Story." The process begins by identifying the "Old Story" that is perpetuated by people, teams, and organizations. Then, that same entity must step back, realize what matters most, and rewrite the story, basically creating what Jim calls the "New Story." Once the new story is completed, the person, team or organization can develop rituals for how the new story will come to life. Jim has discovered incredible evidence that this is truly how behavioral change occurs in humans and within organizations.
In a country, an association, or in a family, we have to ask: What is the "Old Story" and does a "New Story" have to be written? I believe this is the case for almost all aspects of life and, yes, in tennis. It's a very effective way to overcome inertia, whether that inertia is resting and stagnant, or moving like a freight train with nothing in its path. Call it disruptive innovation, the "Power of Story," or whatever you wish to call it; something has to change in the current story for change to occur.
Your tennis students have a story as well, regarding their movement, their strokes, and especially their mental toughness. This story, as Loehr asserts in the Human Performance Institute's new tennis training program, is the key component to helping players change. And, this change can relate to one's movement, his strokes, and even the mental toughness exhibited on court. Before true change can happen in players, they have to rewrite their stories that perpetuate what is happening in their games or performances. For example, poor movers in the game often "live" a story that says they have to actually see and understand where the ball is going, how hard it was hit, what kind of spin is on the ball, how high it is going to bounce, etc., and then they gauge their movement to the ball, only to miss the return. In essence, it wasn't the stroke execution that was the problem; it was the "gauged" movement toward the stroke. Great movers explode in the direction the opponent hit the ball, processing all the while that they are moving. Great movers get in position so quickly that the return is actually easy to hit.
In summary, Newton's first law of motion, or the law of inertia, can explain a lot about what happens on the tennis court and in life. I look forward to receiving your future questions as they relate to helping your players improve their skills on the court. But, remember, for change to occur, we have to act on the current state of inertia with some disruptive force.
Send questions to jgroppel@LGEPerformance.com.
