Inner game is what enables you to act. Nothing less, nothing more.

The Longer Answer

Timothy Gallwey first coined the term ‘inner game’ in his book The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance. He wrote that “every game is composed of two parts, an outer game and an inner game”; where the outer game is fought against another opponent and the inner game is fought against your own inner doubts and fears.

via What is Inner Game?.

Lori is an authentic, engaging speaker and coach who shares her real life experiences with honesty and passion! Lori is the Founder and CEO of Foundation Coaching Group Inc. Foundation Coaching’s primary mission is to impact as many women as possible and share the vision of living passionately.

One area of coaching that touches my heart and soul the most is Stress Management. I was happy to be able to read and review this book when asked by the authors. As you might imagine I have read a LOT on the topic and more often than not it is several thousand words of meaningless drivel. I was pleasantly surprised when I dug into the book and I had to actually turn on my brain.
The book is broken out into three sections:
Part One: The Game of Stress, goes into great detail about what exactly stress is, where it comes from, acknowledging and understanding your stress and our reactions to stress.
Part Two: Outsmarting Stress, teaches how to become aware of your stress, shows you strategies to move past stress and how to take control of your life and the stress.
Part Three: The Inner Game Toolbox, describes in detail eight tools to overcome stress.
Throughout the book there are dozens of real world examples of how people worked through their stress or used a particular strategy. As a reader I like to see how other people work similar situations, these were timely and relevant. Each new concept also had a corresponding exercise that lead to new insights about yourself and the stress in your life.
By far the most valuable part of the book is the Inner Toolbox. Eight strategies that can have a significant impact on your life. Each tool is described in a step-by-step manner, includes exercises to cement the understanding and real life stories to share how other people successfully used these tools.
The simplest and easiest tool is the “Stop” and the one that I loved the most was “being the CEO”.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone that knows they have a stressed life and is ready to change it. I also think this book is great even if you feel your stress is under control that tools are ones that should be added to your personal box and can support you continuing your stress free life.

The Inner Game of Stress

Renowned sports psychology expert W. Timothy Gallwey teams up with two esteemed physicians to offer a unique and empowering guide to mental health in today’s volatile world. The Inner Game of Stress applies the trusted principles of Gallwey’s wildly popular Inner Game series, which have helped athletes the world over, to the management of everyday stress–personal, professional, financial, physical–and shows us how to access our inner resources to maintain stability and achieve success.

Stress attacks every aspect of our well-being. Gallwey explains how negative self-talk undermines us, making us believe that pressure is inevitable and that other people’s expectations are paramount–which leaves us feeling helpless and unhappy. But as Gallwey shows, we have the means to build a shield against stress with our abilities to take childlike pleasure in learning new skills, to properly and healthily rest and relax, and to trust in our own good judgment. With his trademark mix of case histories and interactive worksheets, Gallwey helps us to tap into these inner strengths, giving us these invaluable tools:

• 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.

Now you don’t have to be a champion athlete–or an athlete at all–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.

Here is the link for the eBook versions.