Do You Take Golf Too Seriously?

We live in a fast-paced, impatient society where instant gratification is often the norm. When we want something we want it now. Taking this sense of urgency into our golf game can be disastrous. Developing a patient attitude full of acceptance is our key to improved golf and greater consistency. What does that look like?

We can begin by asking ourselves a few questions:

• Is this just an affair or do I really care about the game?
• Am I involved only for what I can get out of it instantly or am I willing to put in time and effort to make it work?
• Do I love the feel of the club in my hand, the grass under my feet?
• Do I love the sights and smell of a golf course?
• Am I really in love with the game? All of it?

These questions can help you realize that the game is worth developing patience and you are worth it as well. If you think about being impatient, it’s just a form of beating yourself up. No amount of resisting the moment is going to change it. It only produces tension and anxiety in your mind and that transfers over to your body, hence bad swing shots.

A helpful insight is to look at the game of golf as a powerful mirror to the game of life. As children we learn by playing, and we can apply this to ourselves as adults. Golf is a perfect game to learn about ourselves. It is the ultimate reflection of your inward thoughts, beliefs, and conditioning’s. It so honestly reflects either the battleground within or the playground. Do you play golf or work at it? Awareness is the key to changing our game and our lives. A very simple, but not always easy way to shift away from working at golf and getting back to playing it is to drop positive thoughts in your mind,  like affirmations. Since we are always speaking to ourselves anyways, we can build a new habit of productive and  affirming thoughts. It is estimated that golfers have one positive thought out of 10 negative ones. This can be changed by creating a new pattern in the brain with different thoughts. Please believe me when I say changing your thoughts is self-direction, not self-deception. An affirmation is a firm statement that is true or has the potential to be true.

Once you start feeling playing better, you will begin to play better the challenge is to keep up your affirmations. Here are a few Golf Affirmations you can use to boost your self and your golf performance.

I am confident

I am relaxed and calm

I am a great golfer

I am a calm and composed golfer

I use every challenge as an opportunity to grow

It’s not what happens, but how I respond that creates a great game

I produce quality results with excellence and ease

The exciting news is that learning the game of golf is a life long discovery and practicing positive thinking is a life long habit to focus on. With this realization acceptance comes more naturally.

Photo by Keith Aliison

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