Visualization or mental rehearsal is the easiest way to increase your physical golf abilities. Your unconscious mind does not differentiate real from unreal. As you imagine your golf swing, your neurons fire in exactly the same patterns they would follow if you were actually swinging the golf club. As you see the pictures in your mind, your subconscious is convinced that the desired feat is possible. When you experience the complete success of your movement, you also feel the accompanying pleasure, which is then your cue for retrieving this information from your unconscious mind.
The only place you can practice perfectly is in your mind. When you see yourself swinging the club smoothly, easily and effortlessly (in your unconscious mind), there is no need for the inner critic (your conscious mind) that judges your actions, your reactions, and you. Mentally rehearsing at an inner mind-level gives you that added edge; the winning edge. As you center your thoughts on what you want, you automatically center your actions.
Your subconscious mind is like a computer. A computer can only operate with the programming that is put into it. It has no choice. It has to operate on that programming. If you tell yourself “You are so stupid!” when you miss a two-foot putt, your conscious mind is criticizing your performance and sending a powerful message of programming to be recorded into your subconscious mind. In the future, when you have a two-footer, your subconscious will bring up that program to feel the emotion of being stupid, and missing the putt.
We do not directly react to the world around us. We first create a map, which is our perception of our world. Change your “map” (your perception), and you change your reaction. The map in your mind is composed of pictures, sounds and feelings. Every human being uses one or more of these modes of sensing to create his world. You can make your golf game and your world anything you want it to be, easily and quickly.
All thought originates in the mind. Whatever you do, keep your mind focused on the positive. Hold positive thoughts and images, and believe them. Do not focus on getting rid of a problem, but on creating the positive elements that will give you the results you want. Forget the negative. Don’t even acknowledge its existence. It doesn’t exist in the present. Only give your attention to what you want in your golf game. And that of course, is only the positive.
Using your creativity through imagination is a holistic way to integrate your mental, physical and spiritual bodies for the creation of peak performances. Through positive suggestions and imagery that focus on the areas that need change or improvement, a golfer can put the competitive spirit into proper perspective and develop a new empowering attitude towards him/herself and the game.
Self-hypnosis or being in “the zone” is a natural state of life. During a normal waking day we go in and out of a trance-like state many times. Some of the natural states of trance we encounter are: highway trance, electronic trance (TV, cell phone, computer), movie trance, reading trance, eating trance, doing two things at the same time, watching the sunset or ocean, daydreaming, boredom, or looking at a holographic picture.
The naturalness of being in the “flow state” is apparent in the “runners high” of the marathon runner, the “tiger’s eye” of the boxer, and the “Zone State” of other athletes when they are performing at their optimum performance levels.
Being in the “Zone State” on the golf course is when you have let go of all the restrictions imposed by conscious irrelevant thoughts and you have created the reality that you want to happen. It is when your brain and body are in such harmony before you swing that they act as one, and the swing occurs without effort or thought.
The best time to practice your golf game perfectly is at night when you are drifting off to sleep, or in the morning when you are just coming out of the sleep state. Your conscious mind is relaxed and allows your unconscious to create what you want using your imagination. Or during the day, find a place where you can be alone and quiet. Spend 10-15 minutes a few times a week where you won’t be distracted, relaxing by breathing deeply. Mentally rehearse your swing and what you want to happen during your upcoming round. Scientists have found that visualizing while in this Alpha State can improve your swing because your mind is actually programming your muscles. When you arrive at the golf course, you will find that your mind is clearer, your visualizations are sharper and your concentration and focus is easier.
You are what you think you are. You become what you see yourself becoming. Imagine that it has already happened.
Play “in the zone” with Joan
Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances
To train your brain to play your best golf, listen to Positive Mental Imagery self-hypnosis guided imagery CDs in the privacy of your own home; available at www.pmi4.com/cart
If you aren’t able to maintain trust and belief in yourself on the golf course, email Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net or call 828.696.2547 for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation about developing a new strategy. Learn what is missing in your golf game so you can achieve the success you desire.
“THE HEART OF GOLF, Access Your Supreme Intelligence for Peak Performances” 
explores and explains negative emotions such as fear and performance anxiety, the four Cs of mind blockage, the four progressive stages of learning the supreme intelligence of the heart, and the way to access the zone in competition. It is a player’s guide for developing your true inner self by returning to the joy and love of self instead of seeking praise and rewards from the outside world.
“THE HEART OF GOLF” guide book for transforming
your life and your golf game
is available now on Amazon and Kindle
All royalties will be donated to Junior Golf!
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