Shots happen:
stop shoulding on yourself and improve your play
While the saying made famous by Henry Ford “if you believe you can, you’re right, and if you believe you can’t, you’re right too” is something many have heard, it isn’t till you’re 4 over par in an important golf game that the power of that statement really starts to mess with you.
It’s in moments like these that self-doubt and negative thoughts can start to creep in, weighing heavily on your mind as you approach the next hole.
Beliefs are a sense of certainty about something, and yet in the context of sports, these beliefs are often misinterpreted experiences that have been revisited and reinforced so many times that they take on a life of their own.
As a golfer, it’s crucial to be mindful of these thoughts and beliefs, as they can significantly impact your performance on the course.
HOW YOUR BELIEFS AFFECT YOUR GAME
In the most basic sense, any thought that is thought repeatedly becomes a belief.
Do you “always lose your game after the 8th hole?”
Do you “always slice your drives?”
Beliefs are like directives to the mind – delivering the command to yourself on how to represent what is occurring and in turn, you behave accordingly.
If you think of your mind as similar to a computer, you begin to understand how your game “plays” out the way it does. The memories you hold are like computer programs waiting to influence some event. Unfortunately, your computer mind is incredibly literal in its translation of the input that reaches it. Its performance depends at every moment on the precision of the instruction it receives.
It is more than the events of your life that shape you – it is your beliefs as to what those events (or shots) mean. Often you are convinced that events control your life, however it is the meaning or how you explain the event that shapes who you are as a golfer.
Most beliefs are generalizations about your past, based on your interpretations of both painful and pleasurable experiences. It is – instead of what happens during your game – how you perceive it, and what you do about what happens that makes the difference. Each time you experience a significant amount of pleasure or pain your brain searches for the cause and records it in your nervous system to enable you to make decisions about what to do in the future. For example…
Event: A drive on number one tee is sliced into a water hazard.
Internal Rule: “Excellent golfers do not hit balls into the water.”
Judgment: “What a lousy shot.”
Belief/Instruction: “I always slice my drives…especially on this hole!”
Belief/Instruction: “I cannot hit a driver.”
Belief/Instruction: “I should never even attempt to play this course.”
These beliefs are stored in your mind, waiting to be used in your next game. Additionally, these self-limiting beliefs feed into an inner critical voice that endlessly criticizes and judges your actions, decisions, and circumstances.
Beliefs also pave the way for
negative emotions.
If you’re berating yourself for the last shot, feeling defeated, saddened, or frustrated, your physiology is impacted, and the areas of the brain that could help you rebound on the next hole are shut down and unavailable.
Anxiety, doubt, and confusion all stem from beliefs you hold about yourself and your play.
On the flip side, when you don’t believe you’ll look stupid if you lose your lead, you no longer worry about your performance.
When you don’t believe you’re lousy at putting, you no longer get uptight about reaching the green.
Upgrading your golf game isn’t so much about positive thinking as it is about releasing all your negative thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Empowering thoughts and perspectives will naturally surface when the ones that are wreaking havoc on your play are gone.
I tell all my clients that if criticism was really an effective tool for transformation we’d all be rich, skinny, and famous!
Here Is How We Change That - The Power of EFT for Golf
EFT, also known as “tapping,” is an innovative mind-body technique that combines exposure therapy with acupressure points. By tapping on specific meridian points while focusing on negative emotions or experiences, EFT helps rewire the brain and release mental blocks, fears, and limiting beliefs. Numerous studies have shown EFT’s efficacy in reducing stress, anxiety, and phobias. You can read some research I’ve posted HERE.
On the golf course, the ability to stay calm, focused, and confident is paramount. However, the mental pressures of the game can often become overwhelming, leading to poor performance, frustration, and a loss of enjoyment. EFT can help golfers:
