As many of you know, I love golf. On the surface, golf is just a game. The object is to hit a small white ball into a hole in as few strokes as possible. However, like most sports and games, when you step back from the game you realize there are many lessons you can learn from playing that game. The biggest lesson I have learned from golf is the importance of my mental game in anything I do. I want to share three important lessons that become evident to me each time I play golf.
1) Visualization – There is no secret to the power of visualization. Most books on success mention that the mind does not know the difference between what we visualize and what actually happens in our life. The theory is that if we spend time daily visualizing what we want, then what we want will appear. The more times you “imagine” the realization of this goal, the more you imprint it on your mind and your subconscious mind goes to work to make it happen. Over time, your mind sends out the energy that attracts the people or information that help you turn your goal into a reality. In golf, the more I visualize a great shot, the more I seem to hit one. The more time I take looking over a putt and visualizing the path I want it to go on the better putt I seem to hit. The more I visualize myself shooting low scores, the lower my scores seem to be. If life if you can’t visualize what you want to happen it probably won’t happen. It all starts with visualizing where you want to be.
2) Positive Self-Talk – The longer I let one bad shot or one bad hole bother me, the worse I play. I play best when I can put a bad shot or bad hole behind me and focus on the next shot I need to play. As I have improved in golf, I have learned to think bigger and be more confident in my skill level and to speak to myself as if I am a great golfer. For those of you that know golf, I now tell myself that I am going to save par after a bad shot instead of telling myself that I will try to make bogey. I now tell myself that I am a consistent golfer instead of inconsistent. I now tell myself that I should break 80 instead of shoot in the mid 80’s. In speaking more positively to myself, I have begun to save par more often, I have become a more consistent golfer, and I have begun to break 80 more often. In anything in life, remember to talk positively about yourself and your abilities and you will start to see positive results.
3) Be in the moment – Each of the last few years I have gotten better and better at being in the moment on the golf course. Concentrating on each shot, playing each hole to win, and having fun while playing. I have still not mastered this skill, but as I look at ways to improve my golf game, I still feel that my biggest area of improvement is in my mental game. If I continue to be in moment more often than not – embracing each shot, hole, and round – I have no doubt that my game will improve. Just like in golf, if we enjoy our experiences and embrace the ups and downs of the game of life, instead of resisting them, we will be happier and more successful.
It is no secret that when sharing their success, many great athletes, speak as much about the mental part of sports and competition as the physical part. If you want to improve any area of life, start by taking a look at your thoughts. If they are not supporting you, change them and as a result you will improve your performance.
Take with you the lessons that are engrained in me each time I play golf. Visualize what you want, talk positively about yourself and your abilities, and be in the moment.
Work to Grow
Pick one area of your life (health/fitness, relationships, finances, career, etc) and spend 5 minutes per day just visualizing what success in that area looks like to you. Notice if it is easy for you to visualize it or difficult. If it’s difficult, why?
