“How can I develop the confidence to believe and trust that I am a better golfer than how I am currently playing?”  

Confidence develops when you hit a particular shot successfully many times and you know you are capable of doing it again. To develop confidence in your game requires quality practice. Here are seven steps to practice on the range for improving your confidence:

1. Practice to overcome your weaknesses. This will make your game stronger.
2. Take a lesson so you know what to practice.
3. Think about what you are practicing. Don’t just hit balls randomly on the
   range. Have a plan, pick specific targets, and use your pre-shot routine.
4. Practice trouble shots that you might have to hit, such as hitting out of a divot.
5. Practice the way you will play. Practice playing while on the practice
   tee. Hit the shots in the same sequence that you would on the golf course.  Go
   out on the golf course when it isn’t crowded and practice hitting those same
   shots from different positions until you enjoy hitting them.
6. Use positive self-talk to reinforce what you are doing well. Harvey Penick said, “Confidence is a form of positive thinking.”
7. Reinforce every good shot by feeling the wonder of it in your heart.

Learn how to play on automatic pilot “in the zone” for your peak performances. Contact Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net or 828.696.2547 for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. Learn what is missing in your game so you can achieve the success you desire.

Improve your golf game in the off-season by listening to PMI self-hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. Order today at http://www.pmi4.com/cart

The first thing to do is to determine what your mental stumbling blocks are. Take note of your limiting thoughts about the golf course or how you view your upcoming round. For example, you might think, “I worry about playing with others who are better than I am.”

Most golfers are intimidated by playing with better golfers. During the round, they worry about what the better golfer might think of them and their game. This kind of thinking causes anxiety and a lack of mental and emotional control.

Decide what is under your control and what is not.

The ability and the way someone else plays the game is not under your control. However, letting go of worry and thoughts about someone else’s game is under your control.

Instead of dwelling on something outside of you that you can’t control, reframe it into a new perspective that will reinforce a positive focus on attaining your inner control. Anytime you determine that a thought is outside of your control, use it as a cue to give yourself a positive, constructive message where you have some influence or control about yourself.

Some examples are:

• I give my full intention and attention to each shot.
• I play my best by thinking and executing one shot at a time.
• My shot preparation is decisive.
• I use my consistent mental pre-shot routine for every shot and putt, visualizing and feeling each one.
• I relax between shots by keeping the conversation light, breathing deeply and daydreaming the joy of swinging with ease.
• I stay relaxed to keep a good swing tempo to maximize my physical skills.
• I love all the challenges of playing a round of golf.

The only thing you can control is yourself. Do not give any mental or emotional energy
to what you cannot control.This includes the condition of the golf course, the weather conditions, your playing partners’ behavior or their scores. Spend your energy preparing for your shot, sticking to your game plan, your own awareness and changing negative perceptions to positive thoughts.

Learn how to play on automatic pilot “in the zone” for your peak performances. Contact Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net or 828.696.2547 for a complimentary 15-minute consultation. Learn what is missing in your game so you can achieve the success you desire.

Improve your golf game in the off-season by listening to PMI self-hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. Order today at http://www.pmi4.com/cart

“How can I eliminate the negative thought that enters my mind when
I am getting ready to hit a shot?”

Negative thoughts come up from your unconscious mind where everything you have ever heard, seen, felt, tasted, or smelled is recorded. Your unconscious mind works like a computer, GIGO, garbage in, garbage out. Your subconscious mind takes all information in literally, and records everything without judging or analyzing it.

When you encounter a situation on the golf course, your computer mind will bring up an experience from your memory bank that is the same or nearly the same.  For instance, if you are facing a difficult shot, and your computer mind brings up a negative emotional memory of a past shot that you missed on a similar looking hole, you will experience a negative thought.

If you emotionalize missed shots by getting angry, the program becomes stronger in your permanent memory bank and will surface time and time again, thus causing a series of missed shots. This is why it is so important to let go of the energy associated with missed shots. To stock your memory bank with good shot memories, reinforce and record them with a positive feeling of elation and success.  Look at the powerful energy that golfers record with fist pumps.

Play your golf game by choice, not by chance

The process to to release and replace a negative thought is:

• When a negative thought surfaces, that is the time to acknowledge it as part of your past history.
• Since you are the only one who thinks in your mind, step away from the ball and reprogram your mind.
• Choose to release the thought and image that negate what you desire.
• Breathe deeply to release the thought and relax your mind.
• Then think of a positive thought to create a mental picture of the shot you do want.
• Take a practice swing while visualizing your desired shot.
• Trust that it will happen as you have programmed it.

Improve your golf game over the winter by listening to PMI self-hypnosis CDs in the privacy of your own home. Order today at http://www.pmi4.com/cart

Learn how to play on automatic pilot “in the zone” for your peak performances. Contact Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net or 828.696.2547 for a free 15-minute consultation. Learn what is missing in your game so you can achieve the success you desire. 

 “If you stay positive, you have a shot at a silver lining.”  

These words are spoken by actor Bradley Cooper in the 2013 Oscar nominated movie “Silver Linings Playbook.” 

Every dark cloud has a silver lining

Every cloud has a silver lining means that difficult times are like dark clouds that pass overhead and block the sun. When you look at the edges of every cloud you can see the sun shining there like a silver lining. This saying reminding us that every difficult situation has a bright side is as true in the game of golf as well as in life. Remembering the proverb gives us hope when we encounter an undesirable situation.

Proverbs are powerful affirmations

A proverb is a simple saying popularized by repetition that expresses a truth based on common sense or practical experience. Proverbs are known as “short expressions of popular wisdom”, not to be confused with sarcastic sayings from personal experience. Proverbs inspire and teach us important aspects of life. The more they are repeated, the more automatic the belief becomes. The good thing about proverbs is that they are short and easily memorized.

Following are some proverbs that can help maintain a positive attitude in your golf game. See if these time-tested sayings of wisdom and truths apply to your golf game. 

• Haste makes waste. – Benjamin Franklin
• All good things come to he who waits. – English proverb
• Where there is a will there is a way. – old English proverb
• Today is the first day of the rest of your life. – American proverb
• No one knows what he can do until he tries. – Publilius Syrus
• This too shall pass. –  Bible
• When fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade. –  Dale Carnegie
• To err is human, to forgive divine. – Alexander Pope
• Well begun is half done. – Aristotle
• What’s done is done. – William Shakespeare
• Experience is the best teacher. – Latin saying
• Success is a journey, not a destination. – Ben Sweetland
• Hope springs eternal. – Alexander Pope
• He who has overcome his fears will truly be free. – Aristotle
• Things do not change; we change. – Henry David Thoreau
• Change your thoughts and you change your world. – Norman Vincent Peale
• Self-trust is the first secret of success. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• The starting point of all achievement is desire. – Napoleon Hill
• We first make our habits, then our habits make us.- John Dryden
• Failure to prepare is preparing to fail. – John Wooden

 Play “In the Zone” With Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances 

There are different ways to focus during a round of golf. Players like Ben Hogan concentrated on his game for the entire round by not talking to anyone and by not thinking about anything else. If you find that you lose your focus during the round, perhaps it would be better to relax your mind between shots. Joke with your partners and focus only when it is your turn to hit. 

A mind that is busy, restless or indecisive will find it difficult to concentrate on one activity. The first step toward improved concentration would be to quiet your mind.  When it is your turn to hit, “turn on” your focus by going into your established pre-shot routine to keep your mind from wandering. 

•  Begin by taking deep abdominal breaths to relax  and slow down your mind. 
•  Be decisive about the club you are going to use.
•  Take practice swings to feel your tempo.
•  Mentally rehearse the shot using positive images of past successful shots. 
•  Trust you will hit the shot that you have imagined in your mind.  

The ability to focus your mind is all-important in achieving a successful performance.  For most people, concentration constantly shifts from outside yourself between shots to inside yourself for the actual shots.  Watching an engrossing movie, your attention is focused on the action. In the same way, planning a golf shot can be just as engrossing. Being completely engrossed in the process of performing a shot is known as being in the “flow” or “in the zone” where peak performances occur.

 “My biggest problem in golf is lack of confidence. How can I convince myself that I am capable?”   

“Confidence has to be the golfer’s greatest single weapon…if he believes he can get the ball into the hole, a lot of the time he will, even if his technique appears to be unorthodox or even downright faulty.”  — Jack Nicklaus

Self-confidence is a product of the way you view yourself.  If your view of yourself is positive, you feel good about yourself whether you had a good or bad round.  Make a point to notice the way you talk to yourself on and off the course.  Replace negative thoughts with thoughts that can boost your self-confidence.  For example, say to yourself, “I have hit this shot dozens of times before and I can do it again now”, rather than,  “I need to hit this shot close for a birdie to make up for the double on the last hole.” 

Sit down with a pencil and piece of paper and write down all the qualities that make you a special person.  Every day for several weeks read through this list of your good qualities.  Every time you catch yourself thinking or talking negatively about yourself, replace that thought with a compliment from your list.

After every round of golf, make a list of all the shots you hit well during your round.  Read through the ever-growing list every day for several weeks using  imagery to reinforce your memory of  these good shots.  Strengthen the memory of these shots by complimenting yourself with praise, a fist pump, or a smile to anchor the successful shot into your subconscious mind.

Play “In the Zone” With Joan

Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances