Archived Newsletters - WHAT IS THE INNER GAME OF GOLF? :
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Newsletter June 2015
The inner game of golf is made up of the mental beliefs you have of your self and your abilities that surface in your performances on the golf course.
The mental game includes learning the skills to decrease the mental interferences that keep you from playing at your peak performance levels. You reach your peak performance levels when you become aware only about what you are experiencing in the present moment. Then you are playing the game
Accessing this awareness comes from relaxing your mind for the total focus needed to hit the next shot. In order to relax and focus on playing the game, you must overcome the interference of fears such as failure, embarrassment, worry, anxiety, self-doubt, negative attitudes and beliefs. Fear keeps you from moving forward toward success. Fear keeps you in the "victim energy" feeling powerless. If you use the time in-between shots to think of failing, it is time to release the inner critical voice in your head and replace it with the goodness of your inner Self.
Confidence comes from within.
Golfers who lack confidence talk about how poorly they played certain holes in their past rounds, or talk about the difficulty of the golf course/greens, or about how poorly they are hitting/putting. Golfers who lack confidence think about the things they don't want to happen. When you lose your confidence your negative self-talk increases and your performance deteriorates. Confidence builds when you remember your best shots more than you remember your misses.
Confidence comes from making positive choices
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Choose to live your life now, or choose to listen to old useless inner mind tapes from the past.
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Choose now to talk to yourself as if you are a winner, or choose to keep putting yourself down.
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Choose now to take back control of your life and your golf game, or choose to be a victim.
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Choose now between bonding with your playing partners, or choose to worry about what they might be thinking about you.
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Choose now between enjoying the fun and social interactions with your playing partners, or choose the fear of being judged.
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Choose now to focus between the feeling of hitting great shots and dropping putts, or choose to worry about your score.
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Choose now to focus in the present on each shot, or choose to allow your mind to wander elsewhere.
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Choose now to focus on what you desire to create in this moment, or choose to focus on what you don't want.
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Choose now to believe that you can improve, or choose to give up.
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Choose now to believe in yourself and your abilities, or choose to believe that you are a failure.
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Choose to have a winning strategy, or choose to have excuses for losing.
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Choose to see a possible solution to every situation, or choose to decide it is too difficult.
"The trouble with all of us, who grumble over the game and thus spoil an otherwise pleasant afternoon with congenial friends, is that we do not understand the game, nor ourselves. In this we can take a number of lessons from the poorer player who without fail has fun. For no matter how good we may be, if we should fancy that we have mastered golf to the extent that we can go out day after day and play as we please, then we are greater fools than ought to be left at large". ~ Bobby Jones
When you focus on not being good enough, it produces anxiety and fear. When you focus on the positive, the positive comes to you like a magnet pointed toward a pile of iron filings. If you focus on what other people say, or what you think they are saying about you, or on what they are doing, you won't have enough energy left to concentrate on your own performance. Focus on the only thing you have control over; you and your positive abilities. Then the game will become fun.
Play "In the Zone" With Joan
Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances
If you aren't able to maintain a positive attitude on the golf course, email Joan at pmi4@bellsouth.net for a complimentary 15-minute consultation about developing a new successful strategy.
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