Staying in the present moment or in the NOW is the key to playing well. Eliminate all distractions either outside of you or internally by focusing 100% on what you are doing.
When you are driving your car and miss the turn off the highway, you are distracted by other thoughts.
When you are peeling an apple and cut your finger with the knife, you are distracted by thinking of other things.
Because your golf performance is tied into your self esteem, it is easy to be distracted by thoughts like self-criticism and self-doubt that cause uncomfortable emotions such as humiliation, embarrassment or anger.
Reset Your game
Confidence is the process of believing in yourself and your skill abilities. The key to staying confident is trusting that you can access your skills in all situations on the golf course.
The steps to regain present-time focus on the golf course are:
- Be aware of interferences. Be aware of your mind thinking of interfering thoughts. Release the thought by turning your attention to creating the next shot.
- Be aware of your emotional states. Your emotions are triggered by your thoughts. When you are feeling upset, find the underlying thought causing the uncomfortable emotion, and change it to a positive one.
- Be aware of your body language. Stay in the posture of a champion that will tell your mind you are confident despite making a mistake.
- Be aware of your breathing. Slow down your mind and body by breathing deeply through your abdomen. It will then be easier to bring your attention back to the shot at hand.
- Be aware of your senses. Use your senses instead of your thinking mind. Rather than trying to correct your swing, use your senses of feeling, seeing or rhythm to create an image of the shot you want to hit.
Winners see what they want to happen;
Losers see what they fear might happen.
To train your brain to play your best golf, listen to the Positive Mental Imagery guided imagery CDs, available at www.pmi4.com/cart
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