October 10, 2025 • 10 mins
In this episode of Pickleball Therapy, I introduce an excerpt from my new book Pickleball Therapy: The Book, read by longtime listener Jeff Renshaw. We explore the “Short Lens Spiral”—a mindset trap that keeps players fixated on a single mistake instead of the full joy of the game and how shifting from the short lens to the long lens can restore perspective and confidence. Listen in to reconnect with why you truly play pickleball.
Show Notes: https://betterpickleball.com/265-the-short-lens-spiral/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Hello and welcome to Pickleball Therapy,the podcast dedicated to
your pickable improvement.
It's the podcast with you in mind.
My name is Tony Roig.I am the host of the weekly podcast.
This week, we're doing something a littlebit different because we
have launched our book.
The book, PickleballTherapy, is available now.
We have a team that put this together.
(00:27):
A project like this requires a lot offolks, so Dave and
Michelle were instrumental.
Penny has been helping us out.
Jeff has been leadingthe charge on this thing.
I asked Jeff to pick an excerpt out of thebook that he thought would be particularly
helpful for you and to read it.
And so this podcast is going to be aportion of the book read to you by Jeff.
(00:52):
I think you're really going to enjoy it.
If you're interested in the book itself,there can be a link in the show notes.
You can also just go to betterpickleball.
Com and find the link there andget your early copy of the book.
It just launched.
You'd be one of the first players anywherein the world to have
read Pickleball Therapy.
Enjoy the podcast.
Hi, I'm Jeff Renshaw.
I'm a longtime Pickleball Therapylistener, a student of Tony and CJ's, and
(01:17):
I've had the privilege of helpingTony bring his new book to life.
The book is called Pickleball Therapy (01:20):
The Book, and it's built around the
principles Tony shares in this podcast.
In the book, Tony introduces a conceptconcept he calls the three-lens approach.
It's a way to shift our mindset basedon what's happening during play.
As Tony describes them, the short-lenszooms in on the details of a rally, the
(01:41):
ball, the paddle, the movement, helpingus stay locked in on the moment.
The medium lens pulls back slightly,allowing us to think through what's
happening in a particular game and tomake real-time strategic adjustments.
And the long lens gives us the wide view,helping us reconnect the bigger picture of
why we play pickleball in the first place,for joy, community, personal
(02:05):
growth, exercise, etc.
If you're a regular pickleball therapypodcast listener, you know that Tony often
refers to this big picture reason forshowing up at the courts
as a bowl of ice cream.
The excerpt you're about to hear exploreswhat happens when the short lens, which is
incredibly useful while we're in a rally,gets stuck in place even
(02:27):
after a rally is over.
Tony calls this the Short Lens Spiral.
I hope you'll find this idea asuseful to your game as I have.
Now I'll read from the book.
The Short Lens Spiral.
Our short lens merits further discussionbecause it is this lens that you've used
most until now, whetheryou knew it or not.
(02:49):
It is also the short lens thatcan cause us the most damage.
It is very important to switch out of yourshort lens at the conclusion of a rally to
maintain your mental sharpnessto improve your play.
As we have explained, a properly employedshort lens can help you play better
pickleball as it allows you tofocus on the ball and your shot.
(03:10):
The hyper focus afforded us by the shortlens, however, also comes with a risk to
our play as well as to ourrelationship with pickleball.
The negative effects of the short lenscome when it is used to interpret
information in the wrong frame.
Let's walk through the potential downwardspiral of the short one so you can
(03:30):
clearly see how this risk plays out.
Your opponent pops the ball up.
It's just floating there in front of you.
The shot is a game-winning volleythere for taking, if you can make it.
You hit the ball cleanly with an agreeablebam off your panel, but your shot
land smack into the middle of the net.
(03:52):
Your short lens wants to do one thing.
Keep replaying that one shotin your head over and over.
How How could that happen?
There is nothing wrongwith the lens itself.
That is exactly what it is designed to do.
Focus on the minutia.
The problem is that theshort lens is stuck in place.
(04:13):
You are seeing the shot only through theshort lens of what went
wrong with that one shot.
How much the short lens spirals youdownward will depend on
how long it stays stuck.
Looked at from the other side,it will depend on how long it takes you to
switch out of the shortIn the near term, if you are still
thinking about that missed volley duringthe next rally or series of rallies, you
(04:38):
will have a hard time playing your best inthose moments because your mind
is focused on that past shot.
In the longer term, you mightbe having lunch later that day.
The salad is amazing,but your mind keeps wandering back
to that shot you missed at 10 (04:53):
07.
You cannot let it go.
How did I miss that shot?
I cost us the game, and so on.
This is your short lens,and it is stuck in place even way
after your pickleball session is over.
As you sit there at lunch with your shortlens replaying that shot over and
(05:16):
over, your pickleball experience sours.
Plus, you're missing out on the amazingsalad you are eating, not to mention
the camaraderie of your eating crew.
All of this is because you areinterpreting your entire day's pickleball
experience through the wrong lens.
Through this lens, our thoughts can causeus to feel like a failure or leave us with
(05:40):
a bad taste about ourpickleball experience that day.
As we explored earlier, your lizard braincannot distinguish between
real pain and imagined pain.
It's all the same.
Replaying a misshot over and overcauses your brain to relive the moment.
(06:00):
The biggest risk is that you begin tobuild a negative subconscious association
with pickleball, one that is inconsistentwith how you really feel about the sport.
Think of it like biting down on apiece of eggshell in your omelet.
If you get enough of those,and if you feel about eggshell crunches in
your mouth like I do,eventually you dread taking that bite of
(06:25):
the omelet that you would normally enjoy.
All your brain can think of is Whenwill I bite into that eggshell?
A stuck short lens may lead you to developan exaggerated idea of how
bad you are as a player.
We lose sight of the 30 thingswe did really well during a game.
(06:45):
Instead, our short lens is fixated onthe one shot that did not go our way.
Continuing the above example with themissed game-winning volley,
say that from an objective view, you weresingle-handedly responsible for your team
coming back from 6 (07:02):
9 down to 10
But then you missed that onevolley at the end, the game winner.
Now, because you are stuck in short lensmode, you end up hyper-focused
on that single shot.
The work you did from being behind 6 (07:18):
9 to get you that chance at a win is forgotten.
Our inherent negative bias means that theshort lens will stay
focused on our mistakes.
It is no surprise then that we can end upfeeling bad about our day when we are
stuck in the perspectiveprovided by this lens.
(07:38):
Most often, when we doubt ourselves asplayers, it is because we
are stuck in short lens mode.
As a result, we end up placing excessiveweight on our errors and are
unable to see the good we did.
We also lose sight of the reasonwe play, the long lens perspective.
The good news is that as a capable andintelligent being, you can learn how
(08:01):
to switch your lens from short to long.
If you are stuck in short lens mode andyou can't get a missed shot or lost game
out of your mind, say to yourself, Let'sthink about today a little differently.
What did I want from pickleball today?
Did I get it?
This question switches your lens fromthat mist volley to the big picture.
(08:22):
It is like drawing yourself back andallowing your eyes to rest on the forest,
not just the bark on a single tree.
From this perspective, you know thateverything is fine, and your
pickleball day was in fact a good one.
The even better news is that the long winsdoes not come with any downsides,
none that really matter anyway.
(08:44):
You can use it anytime you want withoutrisk of causing harm to yourself.
If you are ever unsure aboutwhich lens applies in a situation,
choose the long lens.
You will be better served by the long lenswhen you miss a shot or lose a game than
you would be using your shortlens to obtain maximum focus.
(09:06):
Use of the short lens at unnecessary timescan chip away your emotions, confidence,
and ultimately yourrelationship with the game.
You've relied primarily on yourshort lens for a long time.
Learning to switch to your long lens andeventually your medium
lens will take some time.
(09:27):
As with everything, give yourself time andspace learning how to switch to the lens
that most applies to a given situation.
The excerpt I just read comes fromPickleball Therapy: The Book by Tony Roig.
While much of the tone and message willsound familiar to podcast
to podcast listeners.
The book goes deeper, introducing ideasabout the mental side of pickleball
(09:50):
that I hadn't heard before.
An electronic version of the book isavailable to podcast listeners now.
We'll include a link telling you how topurchase that book in the show notes.
Thanks for listening.
Thank you, Jeff, for putting thattogether and for sharing it with us.
I hope you enjoyed this week's podcast.
As always, if you have a minute to rateand review it, really appreciate it, and
(10:12):
also share it with your friends, becauseif you enjoyed the podcast,
they probably will, too.
Lastly, if you want to get a copy of thebook, it'll be in the show
notes or go to betterpickleball.com.
You can get a copy of the book foryourself or any of your friends.
I hope you have a great week, andI'll see you in the next episode.
Hello and welcome to Pickleball Therapy,the podcast dedicated to
your pickable improvement.
It's the podcast with you in mind.
My name is Tony Roig.I am the host of the weekly podcast.
This week, we're doing something a littlebit different because we
have launched our book.
The book, PickleballTherapy, is available now.
We have a team that put this together.
(00:27):
A project like this requires a lot offolks, so Dave and
Michelle were instrumental.
Penny has been helping us out.
Jeff has been leadingthe charge on this thing.
I asked Jeff to pick an excerpt out of thebook that he thought would be particularly
helpful for you and to read it.
And so this podcast is going to be aportion of the book read to you by Jeff.
(00:52):
I think you're really going to enjoy it.
If you're interested in the book itself,there can be a link in the show notes.
You can also just go to betterpickleball.
Com and find the link there andget your early copy of the book.
It just launched.
You'd be one of the first players anywherein the world to have
read Pickleball Therapy.
Enjoy the podcast.
Hi, I'm Jeff Renshaw.
I'm a longtime Pickleball Therapylistener, a student of Tony and CJ's, and
(01:17):
I've had the privilege of helpingTony bring his new book to life.
The book is called Pickleball Therapy (01:20):
The Book, and it's built around the
principles Tony shares in this podcast.
In the book, Tony introduces a conceptconcept he calls the three-lens approach.
It's a way to shift our mindset basedon what's happening during play.
As Tony describes them, the short-lenszooms in on the details of a rally, the
(01:41):
ball, the paddle, the movement, helpingus stay locked in on the moment.
The medium lens pulls back slightly,allowing us to think through what's
happening in a particular game and tomake real-time strategic adjustments.
And the long lens gives us the wide view,helping us reconnect the bigger picture of
why we play pickleball in the first place,for joy, community, personal
(02:05):
growth, exercise, etc.
If you're a regular pickleball therapypodcast listener, you know that Tony often
refers to this big picture reason forshowing up at the courts
as a bowl of ice cream.
The excerpt you're about to hear exploreswhat happens when the short lens, which is
incredibly useful while we're in a rally,gets stuck in place even
(02:27):
after a rally is over.
Tony calls this the Short Lens Spiral.
I hope you'll find this idea asuseful to your game as I have.
Now I'll read from the book.
The Short Lens Spiral.
Our short lens merits further discussionbecause it is this lens that you've used
most until now, whetheryou knew it or not.
(02:49):
It is also the short lens thatcan cause us the most damage.
It is very important to switch out of yourshort lens at the conclusion of a rally to
maintain your mental sharpnessto improve your play.
As we have explained, a properly employedshort lens can help you play better
pickleball as it allows you tofocus on the ball and your shot.
(03:10):
The hyper focus afforded us by the shortlens, however, also comes with a risk to
our play as well as to ourrelationship with pickleball.
The negative effects of the short lenscome when it is used to interpret
information in the wrong frame.
Let's walk through the potential downwardspiral of the short one so you can
(03:30):
clearly see how this risk plays out.
Your opponent pops the ball up.
It's just floating there in front of you.
The shot is a game-winning volleythere for taking, if you can make it.
You hit the ball cleanly with an agreeablebam off your panel, but your shot
land smack into the middle of the net.
(03:52):
Your short lens wants to do one thing.
Keep replaying that one shotin your head over and over.
How How could that happen?
There is nothing wrongwith the lens itself.
That is exactly what it is designed to do.
Focus on the minutia.
The problem is that theshort lens is stuck in place.
(04:13):
You are seeing the shot only through theshort lens of what went
wrong with that one shot.
How much the short lens spirals youdownward will depend on
how long it stays stuck.
Looked at from the other side,it will depend on how long it takes you to
switch out of the shortIn the near term, if you are still
thinking about that missed volley duringthe next rally or series of rallies, you
(04:38):
will have a hard time playing your best inthose moments because your mind
is focused on that past shot.
In the longer term, you mightbe having lunch later that day.
The salad is amazing,but your mind keeps wandering back
to that shot you missed at 10 (04:53):
07.
You cannot let it go.
How did I miss that shot?
I cost us the game, and so on.
This is your short lens,and it is stuck in place even way
after your pickleball session is over.
As you sit there at lunch with your shortlens replaying that shot over and
(05:16):
over, your pickleball experience sours.
Plus, you're missing out on the amazingsalad you are eating, not to mention
the camaraderie of your eating crew.
All of this is because you areinterpreting your entire day's pickleball
experience through the wrong lens.
Through this lens, our thoughts can causeus to feel like a failure or leave us with
(05:40):
a bad taste about ourpickleball experience that day.
As we explored earlier, your lizard braincannot distinguish between
real pain and imagined pain.
It's all the same.
Replaying a misshot over and overcauses your brain to relive the moment.
(06:00):
The biggest risk is that you begin tobuild a negative subconscious association
with pickleball, one that is inconsistentwith how you really feel about the sport.
Think of it like biting down on apiece of eggshell in your omelet.
If you get enough of those,and if you feel about eggshell crunches in
your mouth like I do,eventually you dread taking that bite of
(06:25):
the omelet that you would normally enjoy.
All your brain can think of is Whenwill I bite into that eggshell?
A stuck short lens may lead you to developan exaggerated idea of how
bad you are as a player.
We lose sight of the 30 thingswe did really well during a game.
(06:45):
Instead, our short lens is fixated onthe one shot that did not go our way.
Continuing the above example with themissed game-winning volley,
say that from an objective view, you weresingle-handedly responsible for your team
coming back from 6 (07:02):
9 down to 10
But then you missed that onevolley at the end, the game winner.
Now, because you are stuck in short lensmode, you end up hyper-focused
on that single shot.
The work you did from being behind 6 (07:18):
9 to get you that chance at a win is forgotten.
Our inherent negative bias means that theshort lens will stay
focused on our mistakes.
It is no surprise then that we can end upfeeling bad about our day when we are
stuck in the perspectiveprovided by this lens.
(07:38):
Most often, when we doubt ourselves asplayers, it is because we
are stuck in short lens mode.
As a result, we end up placing excessiveweight on our errors and are
unable to see the good we did.
We also lose sight of the reasonwe play, the long lens perspective.
The good news is that as a capable andintelligent being, you can learn how
(08:01):
to switch your lens from short to long.
If you are stuck in short lens mode andyou can't get a missed shot or lost game
out of your mind, say to yourself, Let'sthink about today a little differently.
What did I want from pickleball today?
Did I get it?
This question switches your lens fromthat mist volley to the big picture.
(08:22):
It is like drawing yourself back andallowing your eyes to rest on the forest,
not just the bark on a single tree.
From this perspective, you know thateverything is fine, and your
pickleball day was in fact a good one.
The even better news is that the long winsdoes not come with any downsides,
none that really matter anyway.
(08:44):
You can use it anytime you want withoutrisk of causing harm to yourself.
If you are ever unsure aboutwhich lens applies in a situation,
choose the long lens.
You will be better served by the long lenswhen you miss a shot or lose a game than
you would be using your shortlens to obtain maximum focus.
(09:06):
Use of the short lens at unnecessary timescan chip away your emotions, confidence,
and ultimately yourrelationship with the game.
You've relied primarily on yourshort lens for a long time.
Learning to switch to your long lens andeventually your medium
lens will take some time.
(09:27):
As with everything, give yourself time andspace learning how to switch to the lens
that most applies to a given situation.
The excerpt I just read comes fromPickleball Therapy: The Book by Tony Roig.
While much of the tone and message willsound familiar to podcast
to podcast listeners.
The book goes deeper, introducing ideasabout the mental side of pickleball
(09:50):
that I hadn't heard before.
An electronic version of the book isavailable to podcast listeners now.
We'll include a link telling you how topurchase that book in the show notes.
Thanks for listening.
Thank you, Jeff, for putting thattogether and for sharing it with us.
I hope you enjoyed this week's podcast.
As always, if you have a minute to rateand review it, really appreciate it, and
(10:12):
also share it with your friends, becauseif you enjoyed the podcast,
they probably will, too.
Lastly, if you want to get a copy of thebook, it'll be in the show
notes or go to betterpickleball.com.
You can get a copy of the book foryourself or any of your friends.
I hope you have a great week, andI'll see you in the next episode.
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