In 1974, Timothy Gallwey wrote “The Inner Game of Tennis,” launching a new way to coach individuals for personal and professional development including athletes, musicians, teachers, business leaders, and many others. The essence of the “inner game” coaching method is to have the individual observe and focus on some important aspect of their behavior or actions without them assessing their results. This technique distracts and silences the “inner voice” that is often a source of fear, doubt, anxiety, stress, tension, nervousness, and many other negative emotions that undermine performance and hinder improvement. “Non-judgmental awareness” has been compared to what martial artists call “relaxed concentration” and to what athletes refer to as “being in the zone.” Inner game coaching is so versatile. This approach has helped beginners, experts, and everyone in between. This coaching has been adapted for improvement across an amazing diverse range of skills. Imagine applying inner game coaching principles to living our Christian lives. Could more non-judgmental awareness lead us toward greater godliness?
The list of spiritual concerns we could focus on is endless: the fruit of the Spirit, the Ten Commandments, various spiritual disciplines, difficult relationships, our finances, persistent temptations and sins, and so on. Memorizing and meditating on Scripture is a great way to maintain prayerfully relaxed concentration. For every important behavior we choose to observe, the self-awareness we gain would immediately give us more feedback and insight into what affects our attitudes, thoughts, and actions. We would get a clearer image of our genuine self. Non-judgmental awareness means that we do not beat ourselves up when we fall short and we do not celebrate when we do well. We merely observe without keeping score and pray that God will change our hearts, lead us away from sin, and guide us toward godliness.
How can we live with less self-judgment in our Christian lives? We can more fully trust God’s promises that in the end, there is no punishment or disapproval for anyone who belongs to Jesus. None of our sins are not going to change God’s love for us or separate us from Him … ever. (Romans 8) Without that critical inner voice, we have the space to listen to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit. Consider this, if our “inner voice” wanted to be our friend, how long would that friendship last? Once we silence our own critical inner voice, we will not avoid the criticism or chase the praise of others. And judgment-free living is a two-way street. We also become less concerned with giving unsolicited advice to others.
There are so many pitfalls when we lack self-awareness. We can think too highly of ourselves and become prideful. We can miss the damage our words and actions have on others. We can let others take advantage of us. There are also many pitfalls when we suffer relentless criticism or seek constant approval. We can obsess over our sin and forget that we are children of God. We can lose our courage to obey God. We can become discontented complainers. Non-judgmental awareness frees us from these temptations and prepares us to follow God’s guidance.
Scripture contains many prayers for God’s guidance and leading. Lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139). He leads me beside still waters…He leads me in paths of righteousness (Psalm 23). Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6). For your name's sake you lead me and guide me. (Psalm 31). The Good Shepherd calls His own sheep by name and leads them out … and the sheep follow him (John 10). With “inner game” coaching, the individual is ultimately left to their own resources to improve their skills and performance. As Jesus’ disciples, we know that our own resources are not enough for us to improve in any meaningful way, and certainly not sufficient to reach God’s holy and perfect standard. But thankfully we also know that we have the resources of God’s unlimited grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to transform us into the image of Jesus Himself. And Jesus’ death and resurrection confirms that our hope in Him will not disappoint us. The next step in our journey might be to find one area in our life that needs some non-judgmental awareness and Holy Spirit guiding.