I cleaned out all the extraneous files from my computer this morning. As I did this, it occurred to me that this is what you need to do to play golf at your highest potential. You need to clean out the old limiting beliefs and negative thoughts that are no longer of value in your golf games.
If you try and do two things at once, the computer will balk and send you a signal that you haven’t fulfilled the first command. Let’s say you are giving it a command to insert a Day and Time. It will not take another command until you put in the date, or delete the command. It is the same procedure with the commands in your golf game. For example, you can’t think about two instructions for your golf swing and expect both to happen. That is why you are told to only have one swing thought. For me that initiative thought is to feel a good rhythm in my swing.
What are you thinking and saying on the golf course?
On the golf course I continually hear golfers repeating old sayings that are detrimental to their performances to play well.
Yesterday, after two days and five inches of rain, the first comment I heard on course was that the traps would be filled with water. This is a limiting fear thought that produces negative pictures. After missing several shots, I heard someone say, “It looks like it is going to be that kind (bad) of day.” This is a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Your mind is full of sayings that are repeated over and over again on the golf course to sooth your wounded ego. It is time to become responsible for deleting the negative ones and replacing them with positive visions of what you want to happen. Your imagination is the biggest tool in your mental tool box. Use it constantly to create your dream of success. Always imagine playing at your peak potential that you have already seen at times.
When you are thinking of a swing thought, your mind is in the past thinking of something that worked previously, or instruction that someone said you “should” do. To stay in the moment of creating your best swing, you need to access your rhythm. Your mind and body need to be entrained; to be in sync. To allow this to happen, you MUST be relaxed. Swinging above your arousal level (June 2008 PMI Newsletter, www.pmi4.com) will put your body out of sync with your swing.
To stay focused in the present moment:
- Use your senses to imagine and access your best swing.
- Relax by taking a deep breath through your abdomen.
- Grip the club lightly.
- Access your rhythm by humming a song, visualizing your swing, and/or feeling the movement in your feet.
- Trust your inner knowing to execute the shot.
For more in-depth information about how to stay in the moment and create your best shots under pressure, call Joan for a complimentary 15-minute personal consult. I can be reached by phone at 828-696-2547, or through the Positive Mental Imagery website or blog.
Play “In the Zone” With Joan
Log on to the PMI website and Blog for additional mental golf tips.
Self-empowering hypnosis mental golf CDs are available at www.pmi4.com/cart
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