It’s really easy to get upset (and grumpy) after a poor golf performance.
It’s also easy to fall into the habit of thinking you’re no good or there’s something wrong with you when you don’t golf the ball as well as you’d like.
This is something that I battled with for years and years.
I always thought the golfers who would beat me regularly had some magic power. A skillset that I didn’t have.
So I spent years and years chasing my tail trying to figure stuff out and after way too much misery I realised one key thing…
There was nothing wrong with me.
I had to forget about the “magic” theories and focus on playing MY game.
I’m still learning.
A few weeks ago I was playing tennis against some very talented chaps.
They were waaaay better than me but I let things get to me.
I forgot to play tennis…
… and instead I worried about what the other guys were thinking of me, the weather and my technique.
I got grumpy and frustrated and kept playing worse.
I forgot the objective of the game…
Get the ball back into play.
And the same issue can creep into all areas of life, business and peak performance.
My business guru Dan is a genius when it comes to technical stuff – especially Facebook ads – he has changed my thinking about business and has helped me grow exponentially.
This morning he wrote this to me:
“I’ve stopped listening to my own advice and I’m being overly technical. I’m trying too hard to make things happen”.
“I need to get out of my head – stop making all those changes – and let the ads do their thing”.
It would be easy to apply that comment to golf, tennis or business.
It’s all the same stuff.
As adults, we tend to think too much and then overanalyse on all that thinking. We just get in our own way.
It all then becomes a bit of a mess.
I read with interest this article about Tiger’s thought’s on Rory’s collapse at the US Open.
We all probably think Tiger was superhuman. That he wasn’t prone to feeling bad or stuffing up when the pressure was on.
But he was human.
He says,
“Nervous, shaky, uncomfortable, yeah, all of it.” (in relation to sinking putts).
And I think the big thing here is learning to embrace the uncomfortableness…
… because it’s all very normal.
Yep. We can completely stuff up when we least want to. But, and this is the important part…
We should be able to learn from it.
So, we don’t keep making the same mistakes over and over.
That next time we are in a similar position we can perform better. And if I can be so bold,
Perform better mentally.
To keep playing the game.
Trusting ourselves
To keep getting the ball back (or into play).
And if nothing else (because there’s absolutely no guarantee of peak performance and winning) we can enjoy the process.
When we have this mindset we really can’t lose. Each event is an opportunity to learn and make progress forward.
This takes some patience, resilience and trust, but there’s probably nothing else we can do anyway.
A good mate of mine always says, “Don’t let fear hold you back”…
It’s great advice for any golfer who wants to play their best. Focus on what you want and then go for it. No fear.
If we’re going to,
Run our own business
Play golf
Play tennis
Whatever
We might as well maximize our chances of having a good time and learning stuff.
Being grumpy is definitely not much fun (speaking from experience).
You also might get a lot out of this interview. It might be a bit too left field for some, but it is also something Tiger Woods used way back in the day.