Most players know the question “What’s the worst that could happen?” It sounds like good sense. It prepares you. It keeps your hopes in check.

But on a pickleball court, that question has a cost.

In Episode 316 of the Pickleball Therapy podcast, Coach Kyleen joined Coach Tony to share a short video from TikTok Memaw. Her message is simple. You’ve spent enough time imagining how it could all go wrong. Give the other possibility some attention. What if it works out?

Why we brace for the worst

In some ways, bracing for disappointment makes sense. Life gives most of us plenty of reasons to be cautious. If you expect the bad outcome, it can’t catch you off guard. It feels like protection.

And pickleball gives you plenty of practice. A missed serve. A popped-up dink. A rough morning at open play. After enough of those, expecting the next one feels natural.

The story starts before you leave the house

Tony and Kyleen see this pattern often. Players decide how the day will go before they reach the court.

“I’m not going to make my serves. And that’s going to ruin the whole day.”

That’s a story. Once it’s written, the player plays the part. It often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The consequence is that some players never try the new shot, enter the tournament, or get coaching, because the conclusion is already in place. It won’t work. Why try?

There’s a mechanism behind this. Tell yourself “Don’t miss the return,” and your mind doesn’t hear “Get the return in.” It hears “Miss the return.” The “don’t” drops out. What’s left is a picture of exactly what you wanted to avoid.

The same thing happens on a bigger scale. Tell yourself long enough that you can’t perform, and you start to believe it.

Every serve missed. Gold medal won.

One of our team members helped run a tournament at his local facility. In the gold medal match, one player missed every one of her serves. Every one.

Her team won the gold.

She wasn’t happy about her serve. Nobody would be. But she had a choice. She could fold the tent and decide the match was over because her serve was gone. When that happens, everything else collapses with it.

She didn’t. She kept returning, kept dinking, and kept playing every ball she could. And it worked out.

Pickleball is messy. So is life. You will stub your toe. The question is whether the stubbed toe stops you from moving forward.

Ask a better question

Kyleen shared the question she now uses on and off the court. Not “What’s the worst that could happen?” Instead: “What’s the best that could happen?”

On days when her head isn’t in it, and she expects to play poorly, she asks it anyway. The answer is usually simple. I played some pickleball. I spent time with friends. I got through it.

This isn’t pretending everything will go well. Tony is clear on that. Life isn’t roses all the time. But there’s no reason to assume the milk is sour before you taste it. Take a sip. If it’s good, keep going.

Here’s how to put it to work:

• Notice the story. Before you play, listen for the prediction. If you’re forecasting a bad day, name it.
• Swap the question. Ask what the best outcome looks like, and how it would feel.
• Take one step. Enter the tournament. Try the shot in a rec game. Book the lesson. You don’t have to know how it ends to take the next step.

Extra coaching tip

Put the “don’t” mechanism to work for you. Your mind follows the picture you give it, so give it the right one.

Instead of “Don’t miss the return,” try “Deep, with margin for error.” Instead of “Don’t pop it up,” try “I've made this dink a million times. I'm the boss of it.” Instead of “Don’t miss my serve,” focus on your intended target over the net.

Each cue tells your body what to do, not what to avoid. One cue at a time.

What if it works out?

TikTok Memaw is 64. She still has things she wants to do, and she won’t talk herself out of them before she starts.

You don’t have to either. Next time you step on the court, ask the other question.

Until next time,

The TRP Team

Original content made by humans. Adapted from Episode 316 of Coach Tony Roig’s Pickleball Therapy podcast with the help of AI, then revised by hand before publishing.