Priming The Subconscious Mind
Because the subconscious mind responds to your thoughts as if they are real, it can be influenced by something that psychologists call “The Priming Effect” (in the previous section, I showed you a simple example of priming with picture-word association). Although the examples I gave are ones that we don’t consciously think about making, we can intentionally create subconscious associations that can enhance performance.
The subconscious mind is not only storing all our experiences, but also what we choose to focus on, the actions we choose to take and what we choose to say to ourselves. What you place your attention on becomes who you are.
An example of this comes from one of the greatest golfers of all time, Jack Nicklaus. Jack once said that he never missed a putt in his mind. Despite people saying to him that they saw him miss, he would always reply that he didn’t. This might sound silly, but there’s some sound logic to it. What he was doing, whether he knew it as such or not, was “priming” his subconscious mind so all he remembered was the putts he made. Over the years, he developed the belief that he was a player that made every putt, which gave him incredible confidence on the greens. It wasn’t that he expected to make every putt and was disappointed when he didn’t, it was that he moved on so quickly from it, that it was forgotten as quickly as it happened.
The subconscious is always listening to what the conscious mind tells it (what you allow your mind to focus on), which will affect whether you develop the winning traits of confidence and self-belief. In this section, we’ll cover the various ways that you can prime your subconscious to elevate your performance. Let’s start with Visualization.
Visualization
Visualization is not only helpful in telling the body what to do before you hit a shot, but research in the field of neuroscience also supports visualization as being a way to improve mood, motivation, and confidence.
Simply put, visualization is creating images or movies in your mind. Some students will tell me that they “can’t visualize”, but if you can close your eyes and imagine what you had for breakfast this morning, then you can visualize.
What should you visualize?
You need to decide what you’re going to visualize before you sit down to do it. For each of the following purposes of visualization, write down what you are going to visualize. If you are going to practice visualization 2-3 times per week, you can rotate through them and of course they can be adjusted as you need. As for how to visualize, it’s best doing it in a relaxed state when your mind is quiet, so I do it first thing in the morning, immediately following my meditation practice. Close your eyes and make it as focused as possible. Experiment with first and third-person visualization, where you experience it through your own eyes or as if you are watching yourself on TV.
Visualization of your goals
Seeing yourself achieving your goals takes you closer to them for a number of reasons. Firstly, it increases motivation. When you can clearly see where you want to go and how it will feel to get there, it can help you put in extra effort each day.
Secondly, it creates familiarity with your goal. If you’ve seen yourself over and over doing something successfully, there will be less uncertainty and fear around it. You are programming (priming) your subconscious mind to feel positive about it, so when you are there for real, you’ll be less overwhelmed by it.
Make the attainment of your goals in your mind as “real” as possible. If you’re an aspiring professional player, you might imagine holing the final putt to win a Tour event or major.
Imagine the sounds, the weather, what you’re wearing, how confident you look as you prepare to make the putt, the feeling of the putter in your hands, and finally, the feeling as the ball disappears in the hole. Imagine the congratulations you get as you walk off the green and being presented with the trophy.
You can bring this imagery into your practice. In fact, your imagination can be a highly effective practice tool. In his book, “Up and Down”, Bubba Watson tells us that from the age of 12, on the practice green at Tanglewood Public golf course, he vividly imagined making the putt that would win him the masters every time he practiced. 22 years later that putt would become a reality.
Thirdly, visualization of your goals is a way to connect more deeply with your “why?” I.e., Now that you’ve seen it and experienced it, ask yourself what it is that you love about this goal?
Another way to prime the subconscious visually is with a vision board. Put pictures on the board which represent the goals you are working towards and put it in a place where you will see it often. Tiger Woods had a poster of Jack Nicklaus on his wall as a junior golfer, so every day, he had a visual reminder of what his long-term goal was. Michael Phelps wrote down his goals for Olympic Golds and World Record times and had them on the mirror he looked at every morning. He said that it helped give each day more purpose and extra motivation to work hard.
Visualization of The Player and Person That You Want to Become
More important than winning tournaments, are your goals for the person that you want to become. For me, the game is less about trophies and more about developing character and skills that lead to greater wellbeing. What are the characteristics of the player you want to become? What behaviors will you need to change to become that player? Do you need to be tougher in the face of adversity? Calmer under pressure? More focused? More grateful? Smile more?
In Module 1 we talked about your player values, which embody the player you want to be (that has nothing to do with scores/outcomes). Imagine yourself as that player and person with those great qualities of a champion.
Visualize The Challenges Ahead
The path to success is never an easy one. If we only visualize achieving our goals, it can trick the subconscious into thinking that we have already achieved them, which can decrease motivation and effort. Achieving your goals will require you to develop skills, overcome challenges, and put in the work. For this reason, you must visualize the work ahead and the obstacles that you will face.
Think about the possible challenges that stand between you and your goal. How will you deal with them? Create some scenarios in your mind and how you would like to approach them.
What are the steps and the work that will be involved in you becoming the best you can be? What is your plan and your process?
Visualization as preparation
We’ll talk more about “mental rehearsal” in the next module but being able to see yourself succeed before you play, practice or start your day, can make a big difference in whether you actually do it.
Visualization can be used to rehearse your strategy, your swing, what you will focus on in each phase and how you will respond to setbacks.
All can make you feel more prepared and confident before you get to the first tee.
Visualization to control mental and emotional state
“I pretended that I was playing each shot at my home course against my friends.” – Sophia Popov after the final round of her Women’s British Open win.
Imagining something happy can make you feel happy. Imagining something relaxing can help you feel more relaxed. Imagining something with high energy can give you more energy, and so on. In our imagination lies the opportunity to adjust our mental, emotional and physical state at any stage of a round. If you are feeling anxious or under pressure, going to a “happy place” in your mind is a good technique for staying calm and in a good mood. Simply focusing on something (or someone) that you love, or happy memories can release “feel-good” chemicals into the body and reduce stress.
What you decide to visualize is a personal preference, but it could be a favorite vacation spot, walking along a sandy beach, being with friends or family, being with your kids or anything that is going to make you feel happy.
Jordan Spieth says that if he needs a boost of confidence, he will imagine some of his best performances, via his personal “high-light reel”.
Visualization to Improve Technique
Neuroscience has shown that athletes don’t need to be physically training to practice movement. Golfers can ingrain new movement patterns and train their swings simply by using their imagination.
Dr. Amishi Jha says in her book “Peak Mind” “Brain imaging research shows that mental rehearsal activates the motor cortex similar to the way that actual physical movement does, exercising and strengthening neural networks similar to the way that physical exercise does for muscles.”[1]
If you know the desired movement pattern or changes to your swing you would like to make, then close your eyes and visualize making it. Do a technical practice session in your mind, imagining the look, feel and sound of each swing and shot. Hit a variety of different short game shots and putts.
[1] The Peak Mind, Amishi P. Jha