Mind over matter
IT is time to go back to basics and for those of you who receive my regular online newsletter – ‘A is for Attitude’ began my A to Z series over a year ago. Your attitude is so important when it comes to achieving any success you seek in life – whether on or off the course.
I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of some basic rules that will help you when you find yourself in the ‘wrong frame of mind’ to achieve anything – let alone a good scorecard! If you think of the sports person you most admire, how would you describe them? Possibly focused, driven, motivated, dedicated, ambitious – all these skills are not to do with technique or talent but everything to do with attitude.
You may have heard of the phrase ‘having a can-do attitude’ and it is people who have the ability to stay motivated and positive who are more inclined to behave in a way that always produces the best results.
The great news is that this, like any other skill, can be learned. There has been a great deal written about top sports stars’ ability to perform ‘in the zone’. It is in this state where the best results are achieved most easily. You can liken the zone to a feeling of everything being so easy on every level, when you are operating without conscious thought and without, seemingly, effort. You feel inspired and passionate about what you are doing and time just seems to fly by and the results just seem to happen.
To give you an everyday example, remember what it was like when you were learning to drive a car.
It was awkward trying to remember everything in the correct order – mirror, signal etc – but after time you learned to drive without any conscious thought for the process. There are a number of feelings that potentially will threaten you while performing in the zone, and your attitude has a big role to play in this process.
If you are disengaged, bored, unfocused, full of self-doubt, fear or distracted then this will be how you play your game of golf. It is up to you to get yourself into the right state of mind, not only to play great golf but to enjoy yourself as well. When you follow your path – the one that offers you least resistance – and begin to play the game you most naturally play, on and off the course, you begin to excel. You will find that you are having fun because it is effortless. You are in the flow because you are doing what you love to do.
To be in the zone you need, above all else, to have the right attitude and, for that, you need to take full responsibility for how you think and how you behave.
If you are feeling and thinking negatively before you even start your game, and you know you are not in the right frame of mind to play well, then this will reflect in the results you achieve.
Remember my favourite saying: The you you see is the you you’ll be!
TIP OF THE MONTH
If your best friend came up to you and told you she was fed up and didn’t feel like she was going to play well, what would you say? You would make every effort to make her feel good about herself, pointing out all her good attributes and positive things about the day and game ahead. This is what you need to do for yourself. You need to become your own best friend and talk to yourself as such! Finally, remember when you start to lapse into a can’t-do state of mind to remind yourself that to have success and fun you need to become a can-do person and golfer!