Wellness Tip:

Use Your Emotions Instead of Fighting Them

This week’s routine belongs to tennis player Ben Shelton, whose approach to competition got us thinking about the role emotions can play in performance. 🤔

Shelton doesn’t try to stay cool and collected on court. He gets fired up, celebrates loudly, and draws energy from the crowd. 🔥

When we’re nervous about something, our instinct is often to try to calm down or push those feelings away. But what if, instead of fighting them, we changed the way we thought about them?

Anxiety and excitement can feel remarkably similar in the body: a racing heart, butterflies, sweaty palms, and a surge of energy. Research has found that simply reframing pre-performance anxiety as excitement can help people feel more confident and perform better.

For example, rather than seeing a pounding heart as a sign that something is going wrong, you might recognize it as your body preparing you to meet a challenge.

So next time you’re nervous, frustrated, or overly excited before something important, don’t immediately ask, “How do I calm down?” Try asking, “How can I use this energy?”

Routine Breakdown

Ben Shelton, Pro Tennis Player

How Tennis Star Ben Shelton Stays Grounded

How does one of the world’s top-five tennis players use ritual, routine, and downtime to maintain a healthy mindset? Talking to On, 23-year-old tennis sensation Ben Shelton explained what keeps him in balance.

The Routine:

• Starts match day with a shower. He doesn’t consider it a superstition; it’s simply a familiar way to begin the day before the unpredictability of competition.
• Uses music to switch into competition mode. Shelton describes his pre-match routines as being about getting “fired up.” Music plays a big role in that transition (he loves hip-hop, especially Lil Baby). His pre-game playlist gives him a familiar ritual before he walks onto the court.
• Lets emotion fuel performance. Rather than trying to become completely calm or detached under pressure, Shelton embraces his natural intensity. He smiles, celebrates, interacts with spectators and draws energy from the crowd.
• Makes space for genuine downtime. Away from tennis, Shelton spends time with friends, watches movies, reads and listens to music.
• Reconnects with people after difficult matches. Tennis can be a solitary sport, something Shelton became particularly aware of after experiencing the team environment of college tennis. Relationships remain an important counterbalance to that isolation. After difficult matches, he turns to his girlfriend, family and the people close to him, and stays connected with former teammates.
• Keeps learning beyond his main pursuit. Shelton keeps interests outside tennis. He reads finance books in his downtime and, despite leaving university early to turn pro, still plans to finish his finance degree one day.
• Focuses on progress rather than perfection. Despite his rapid rise through professional tennis, Shelton still talks about himself as a work in progress. “I’m competitive and I want to win but I have to remind myself that I’m nowhere near where I want to be with some things,” he says.

Why it works:

• Shelton’s approach to performance, both on and off the court, is refreshingly simple. A few familiar rituals, time to switch off, strong relationships, and interests beyond tennis give him steady anchors around the intensity and unpredictability of professional sport.

“Progress over perfection” is a well-worn mantra, but that’s with good reason. Taking small, consistent steps — and accepting mistakes as part of the process — helps us build momentum without getting derailed when things don’t go perfectly.