A golfer’s state of mind is critical for performing well and having a great round, but what can we do to ensure we find the optimum state of mind and what are the factors that influence it?
So what do we mean by a state? Well a state is how you are currently feeling and experiencing the situation you are in and in the world around you this can be seen as anger, anxiousness, happiness, joy, nervousness or calmness. But the important thing to remember is that vary rarely do these states happen suddenly, they build gradually and are more often than not a consequence of the situation you find yourself in.
For the golfer these states can be triggered by many things such as a state of heightened nerves or anxiety on the first tee or worry when hitting a long iron shot over water. Now both of these examples show a negative state but by looking at these and asking ourselves two questions we can begin to turn this around into a positive state.
Firstly, what states are going to help us the most in golf? Secondly, how can we begin to produce these states on purpose, every time?
Of course, that first question is easy to answer. Calmness, concentrating, focused, determined, even happy, are all positive examples of good states to find ourselves in when on the golf course. But what about that second question?
Well our state of mind is a result of the interaction between three parts, our environment, which is the situation we find ourselves in (needing a par on the 18th for a victory), our physiology (the way we walk, breath, stand and swing a club) and finally our mental approach.
For many people controlling the state they are in is not something they would have given much thought to, in fact most of the time the state of mind they find themselves in is a direct result of the external circumstances or environment (such as nerves due to the people watching you on the 1st tee) and leaves them only “hoping” for a good game.
So how do you begin to develop a mental approach that will enable you to get into a positive state of mind?
When we look at golfing greats we tend to see that they create a good state by focusing thoughts purely on the positives. They remember the good shots they have played in detail, they can picture the scene, the results, the feeling and every aspect of the shot they played, and of course this helps them to set goals and more importantly achieve them.
What I’d like you to try now is to imagine you are standing on the 1st tee of your local course, and to imagine it’s your perfect golfing day. Focusing only on the positive mental image, go through each shot you would play. Visualise standing over your ball and hitting the perfect shot down the fairway, imagine the sound the ball will make off the club, imagine its flight, and where the ball will land. Make your way around the course, thinking back to great shots you’ve played in the past, go over them again and again, and slowly let them begin to be the only shots you imagine.
Now next time you go out to play, think back to this session and imagine those great shots. As you stand over your ball replay that image of the shot you want to play. If you keep working on this positive state of mind and reduce the negative states undoubtedly, like all the golfing greats your game will be on the road to success.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Mastering Matchplay!
More often than not when you play in a stroke play tournament, you are competing against many others, and whilst on the course, unless you are a touring pro on the world stage with huge scoreboards on every hole, you have no idea of your position. But in contrast match play is played directly with your opponent adding a huge mental element to the game and is all about winning holes. So how does this effect the mental approach to the game and what can you do to give yourself the best chance of winning?
The first noticeable difference is that in stroke play you should only concern yourself with your game (unless you are standing on the 18th tee knowing a bogey is enough to win and safety is the key!), whereas match play is a game of reacting to events and making decisions that are based purely on the situation of the game.
Starting on the first tee you must make a decision to attack or defend, and if it’s your honour this means attacking by not handing the initiative to your opponent. Whilst it may be tempting to go for all out attack and reach for the big gun in an attempt to hit a huge drive, what you need to decide is does the risk out way the reward? If by attempting to hit a 300 yard drive your chances of hitting the fairway drop drastically then the risk of handing the advantage to your competitor is greatly increased. This may sound somewhat negative as an approach, but the point here is to manage the risk of each shot you play and choose your moment to attack and defend. When playing second, the same rules apply except you have the extra advantage that you can react to the position of your opponent. As the great Peter Alliss once said “Match play is not all about miracle shots – just keep your car on the track” the golden rule for your mental approach is to pick your fights, and attack when the rewards out way the risks.
Having a strong mental approach is a long way from gamesmanship and is something that is a positive approach to your own game rather than an attempt to affect the performance of others. This can manifest in the way your feel internally and of course in your outward appearance, and whilst for some a steely eyed determination or a fist pump on the green may be inspiring for them it can also cause negative feelings and reaction in their opponents. Of course we can all think of examples of players who have an aura of invincibility about them, but the second golden rule is to only play the shots made and not your opponent. Whilst this doesn’t mean ignoring your opponent it does mean ensuring that their behaviour does not affect yours. A simple tip here is not to watch your opponent strike a shot, but only watch the result of the shot and not them, and then assess what needs to be done.
Two simple rules then, that will have you on the way to giving yourself the best chance of success in match play. Firstly react to the situation and keep your car on the tracks by attacking and defending appropriately, and secondly play the shot not the opponent, ignore reputation, behaviour and most importantly gamesmanship.
The first noticeable difference is that in stroke play you should only concern yourself with your game (unless you are standing on the 18th tee knowing a bogey is enough to win and safety is the key!), whereas match play is a game of reacting to events and making decisions that are based purely on the situation of the game.
Starting on the first tee you must make a decision to attack or defend, and if it’s your honour this means attacking by not handing the initiative to your opponent. Whilst it may be tempting to go for all out attack and reach for the big gun in an attempt to hit a huge drive, what you need to decide is does the risk out way the reward? If by attempting to hit a 300 yard drive your chances of hitting the fairway drop drastically then the risk of handing the advantage to your competitor is greatly increased. This may sound somewhat negative as an approach, but the point here is to manage the risk of each shot you play and choose your moment to attack and defend. When playing second, the same rules apply except you have the extra advantage that you can react to the position of your opponent. As the great Peter Alliss once said “Match play is not all about miracle shots – just keep your car on the track” the golden rule for your mental approach is to pick your fights, and attack when the rewards out way the risks.
Having a strong mental approach is a long way from gamesmanship and is something that is a positive approach to your own game rather than an attempt to affect the performance of others. This can manifest in the way your feel internally and of course in your outward appearance, and whilst for some a steely eyed determination or a fist pump on the green may be inspiring for them it can also cause negative feelings and reaction in their opponents. Of course we can all think of examples of players who have an aura of invincibility about them, but the second golden rule is to only play the shots made and not your opponent. Whilst this doesn’t mean ignoring your opponent it does mean ensuring that their behaviour does not affect yours. A simple tip here is not to watch your opponent strike a shot, but only watch the result of the shot and not them, and then assess what needs to be done.
Two simple rules then, that will have you on the way to giving yourself the best chance of success in match play. Firstly react to the situation and keep your car on the tracks by attacking and defending appropriately, and secondly play the shot not the opponent, ignore reputation, behaviour and most importantly gamesmanship.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Concentration!
How many times have you seen top players scowling at the photographer who accidentally took a picture in their backswing and how many times have you stood over your own ball feeling uncomfortable, fretting about the out of bounds off the tee, only to see your ball disappear into the trees.
There are lots of things on a golf course to distract us from our game, and all the time you let these distractions into your mind you run the risk of making the mistakes you fear come true. Now we’ve all heard the clichés of “focus on the ball” and “taking one shot at a time” but does concentrating on the ball really help? Granted, it is possible to concentrate on the ball, its shape, the colour, the numbers, but is this really helping your game?
Of course it is impossible to concentrate for the length of time needed to play 18 holes, and it is not particularly helpful to try! Remember that you can’t just make yourself concentrate, you can’t just scowl intensely, furrow your brow and tell yourself to concentrate, and in fact these sorts of thoughts can be distracting and stop you focusing purely on your shot, routine and technique. You can’t just tell yourself to concentrate, and in fact by filling your head with thoughts such as “concentrate, concentrate harder” you risk distracting yourself from the shot in hand. But what is important is to start the process of your pre shot routine by using a trigger to slip into a comfortable and relaxed state of mind that is uncluttered with negative or irrelevant thoughts.
Now the trigger can be anything you choose, but what is important is that you recognise this as the start of your routine. It could be the moment you place your bag next to your ball, or when you take out the club you want to use, or another option may be to take off your glove after each shot, and use putting it back on as your trigger.
So next time your on the course enjoy the distractions as you walk along, have a look at the views, relish the conversations you have with your playing partners, but as soon as you reach your ball use your trigger to allow the start of your routine and to slip into a relaxed and comfortable state of mind.
Concentration comes from having a clear plan, and by removing the negative thoughts about the hazards in front of you. Visualise the shot your are going to play, run the shot through your head, focusing only on the positive aspects of the shot, and not any potential pit falls, and allow your mind to begin to concentrate in a natural unforced way.
There are lots of things on a golf course to distract us from our game, and all the time you let these distractions into your mind you run the risk of making the mistakes you fear come true. Now we’ve all heard the clichés of “focus on the ball” and “taking one shot at a time” but does concentrating on the ball really help? Granted, it is possible to concentrate on the ball, its shape, the colour, the numbers, but is this really helping your game?
Of course it is impossible to concentrate for the length of time needed to play 18 holes, and it is not particularly helpful to try! Remember that you can’t just make yourself concentrate, you can’t just scowl intensely, furrow your brow and tell yourself to concentrate, and in fact these sorts of thoughts can be distracting and stop you focusing purely on your shot, routine and technique. You can’t just tell yourself to concentrate, and in fact by filling your head with thoughts such as “concentrate, concentrate harder” you risk distracting yourself from the shot in hand. But what is important is to start the process of your pre shot routine by using a trigger to slip into a comfortable and relaxed state of mind that is uncluttered with negative or irrelevant thoughts.
Now the trigger can be anything you choose, but what is important is that you recognise this as the start of your routine. It could be the moment you place your bag next to your ball, or when you take out the club you want to use, or another option may be to take off your glove after each shot, and use putting it back on as your trigger.
So next time your on the course enjoy the distractions as you walk along, have a look at the views, relish the conversations you have with your playing partners, but as soon as you reach your ball use your trigger to allow the start of your routine and to slip into a relaxed and comfortable state of mind.
Concentration comes from having a clear plan, and by removing the negative thoughts about the hazards in front of you. Visualise the shot your are going to play, run the shot through your head, focusing only on the positive aspects of the shot, and not any potential pit falls, and allow your mind to begin to concentrate in a natural unforced way.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Putting routines and the yips!
So we’ve all been there, a sunny Sunday morning, a cracking drive, followed by a beautifully crisp 5 iron into a tight pin that rolls up to three foot from the cup. Even as we walk towards the green the anxiety begins to grow as thoughts of missed putts run through our minds and our shoulders begin to tighten. As we stand over the putt the break of the green becomes impossible to read, and the corners of our eyes begin to twitch as we scan the blades of grass for signs of movement. Gripping our putter tighter and tighter as we rush through some practice swings the putter begins to take on a life of its own and snakes from side to side. Quickly we step up to the ball and even before we strike it our eyes are darting anxiously towards the hole, the club face opening, immediately sending the ball on a line way off course, another chance of a birdie gone.
Looking at this example and from seeing this scene repeated hundreds of times a year from tour professionals to high handicappers, and even having been guilty of it myself on many occasions it is clear to see that this is a problem that needs fixing.
Now there is something of a chicken and egg situation here in that it is hard to have a positive psychological approach if you know you have poor technique and vice versa if you have good technique but poor mental preparation you will undoubtedly fall foul of the dreaded yips.
I recently watched a tour professional practicing and what surprised me was not the fact that he missed more putts from around 9 feet than someone of his standing should, but more that he missed the putts on both sides of the hole. Now what this shows is that technically he is not as sound as he should be, i.e. his routine, technique and putting stroke was not repeatable, and so without this routine and reliability he has no hope of developing a strong mental approach also. It is almost impossible to have a positive mental approach if your technique is inconsistent without deluding yourself and as we are talking about results any self delusion would be shown in the results seen. So firstly develop your routine and technique, a routine that is comfortable and most importantly repeatable, a technique you can rely on.
Unlike a mental approach your technique can be completely individual and unique to you, whatever makes you comfortable (avoiding any superstitious behaviour and bizarre behaviour of course) and is easily repeatable, although in most cases simplicity is often the key.
Your mental approach is routed in controlling your body’s behaviour, and there is one simple routine that you can put in place immediately and is simple, repeatable and works, and this is controlling your heart rate.
As you begin to walk towards the green I want you to concentrate on your breathing, ensuring you are taking controlled deep breaths, allowing your breathing to control your tempo and even the speed you walk, think Ernie Els. As you arrive on the green and begin you’re putting routine focus on your heart rate, as a slow heart rate is vital for control of your body and muscles. The optimum state for putting is through a slow controlled heart beat, so as you stand over your ball, breath in slowly, breath out slowly and then putt. By controlling your heart rate and combining it with a sound putting routine the yips will be a thing of the past.
Looking at this example and from seeing this scene repeated hundreds of times a year from tour professionals to high handicappers, and even having been guilty of it myself on many occasions it is clear to see that this is a problem that needs fixing.
Now there is something of a chicken and egg situation here in that it is hard to have a positive psychological approach if you know you have poor technique and vice versa if you have good technique but poor mental preparation you will undoubtedly fall foul of the dreaded yips.
I recently watched a tour professional practicing and what surprised me was not the fact that he missed more putts from around 9 feet than someone of his standing should, but more that he missed the putts on both sides of the hole. Now what this shows is that technically he is not as sound as he should be, i.e. his routine, technique and putting stroke was not repeatable, and so without this routine and reliability he has no hope of developing a strong mental approach also. It is almost impossible to have a positive mental approach if your technique is inconsistent without deluding yourself and as we are talking about results any self delusion would be shown in the results seen. So firstly develop your routine and technique, a routine that is comfortable and most importantly repeatable, a technique you can rely on.
Unlike a mental approach your technique can be completely individual and unique to you, whatever makes you comfortable (avoiding any superstitious behaviour and bizarre behaviour of course) and is easily repeatable, although in most cases simplicity is often the key.
Your mental approach is routed in controlling your body’s behaviour, and there is one simple routine that you can put in place immediately and is simple, repeatable and works, and this is controlling your heart rate.
As you begin to walk towards the green I want you to concentrate on your breathing, ensuring you are taking controlled deep breaths, allowing your breathing to control your tempo and even the speed you walk, think Ernie Els. As you arrive on the green and begin you’re putting routine focus on your heart rate, as a slow heart rate is vital for control of your body and muscles. The optimum state for putting is through a slow controlled heart beat, so as you stand over your ball, breath in slowly, breath out slowly and then putt. By controlling your heart rate and combining it with a sound putting routine the yips will be a thing of the past.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
A few side bets on a Sunday morning?
Picture the scene, your standing on the 14th tee and your having a dream round, you’ve holed some monster putts, your drivers been on fire, and your five under your handicap. Your mind starts to wander as you tee your ball up to thoughts of the 19th and talking your friends through the best round you’ve ever shot.
Before you know it you’ve shot a terrible triple bogey, and taking your frustrations out on the ball you shot another triple bogey on the 15th. Disheartened and demoralised you finish off with a pair of doubles before scraping a conciliatory par at the last finishing five over your handicap.
Now whilst it would be better not to have the triple bogey on the 14th at all, we all know that mistakes happen, and a mistake is an error in our actions or judgment caused by poor reasoning or carelessness, i.e. they shouldn’t happen but they do!
As we’ve talked about before, golf is a game of imperfection and there are some really interesting statistics available on what is sometimes referred to as “bounce-back-ability” a horrible term, but an interesting statistic! It measures the amount of time a player follows up a bogey or worse with a birdie or better, in other words how they reacted to a mistake or blow up.
Now we all know that golf is not always about getting it right all the time, it’s not always about the birdies you make, but how you handle the things that go wrong in your game. This is a key trait of greatness in golf, and something you will see time and time again from the top professionals. They realise that mistakes will happen, and in competitions when mere mortals make a mistake they will be angry and asking themselves “why did I do that? What a bad thing to happen, I’ve blown my chance in this competition” the best players will be saying to themselves “What do I need to do now to win this tournament” or “how do I get things back on track”. The key is not to follow a mistake by making another one.
Most people will see a mistake (a pulled tee shots into the trees or a shanked 3 iron into a bunker) as a failure, from now on I want you to make a commitment to reframe the mistake as an opportunity to bounce back with the next shot. Indeed what could be more satisfying than a “sandy par” (making a par after being in a bunker) or a “rough recovery” (making a par after missing the fairway with your tee shot)? Why not make it part of your round or side bets on your weekend round with your playing partners?
Next time you are on the course, as well as recording the number of shots you take, make a note of when you made a mistake, and most importantly what you did next. By turning the negative into a positive you’ll be well on your way to bouncing back in style. In case you need any extra motivation to bounce back, when you reach the 19th settle the bets with your partners, 20p per rough recovery, and 50p per sandy par! Turn that mistake into an opportunity!
Next time we’ll take a look at the yips on the green!
Before you know it you’ve shot a terrible triple bogey, and taking your frustrations out on the ball you shot another triple bogey on the 15th. Disheartened and demoralised you finish off with a pair of doubles before scraping a conciliatory par at the last finishing five over your handicap.
Now whilst it would be better not to have the triple bogey on the 14th at all, we all know that mistakes happen, and a mistake is an error in our actions or judgment caused by poor reasoning or carelessness, i.e. they shouldn’t happen but they do!
As we’ve talked about before, golf is a game of imperfection and there are some really interesting statistics available on what is sometimes referred to as “bounce-back-ability” a horrible term, but an interesting statistic! It measures the amount of time a player follows up a bogey or worse with a birdie or better, in other words how they reacted to a mistake or blow up.
Now we all know that golf is not always about getting it right all the time, it’s not always about the birdies you make, but how you handle the things that go wrong in your game. This is a key trait of greatness in golf, and something you will see time and time again from the top professionals. They realise that mistakes will happen, and in competitions when mere mortals make a mistake they will be angry and asking themselves “why did I do that? What a bad thing to happen, I’ve blown my chance in this competition” the best players will be saying to themselves “What do I need to do now to win this tournament” or “how do I get things back on track”. The key is not to follow a mistake by making another one.
Most people will see a mistake (a pulled tee shots into the trees or a shanked 3 iron into a bunker) as a failure, from now on I want you to make a commitment to reframe the mistake as an opportunity to bounce back with the next shot. Indeed what could be more satisfying than a “sandy par” (making a par after being in a bunker) or a “rough recovery” (making a par after missing the fairway with your tee shot)? Why not make it part of your round or side bets on your weekend round with your playing partners?
Next time you are on the course, as well as recording the number of shots you take, make a note of when you made a mistake, and most importantly what you did next. By turning the negative into a positive you’ll be well on your way to bouncing back in style. In case you need any extra motivation to bounce back, when you reach the 19th settle the bets with your partners, 20p per rough recovery, and 50p per sandy par! Turn that mistake into an opportunity!
Next time we’ll take a look at the yips on the green!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Routines
We touched on handling the pressures of the first tee last month, and so now let’s look at developing a psychologically sound routine to use on the first tee to ensure our rounds starts out in the right way. So a quick quiz. What’s the difference between these two behaviours?
A well known tour professional uses only golf balls numbered 5 to 8, and another well known tour professional marks his ball with a coin, head side down.
The answer is that the first professional uses ball numbered 5 to 8 to help him identify his ball as they are less common, whereas the second professional marks his ball with a coin tail side up because he believes if he doesn’t he will miss his putt. The difference is that the second routine has behaviours that are based on superstition. Now consistency in our routine is what we are aiming for, but the key is consistency through each behaviour and action having a reason that is not based in superstition.
So let’s start to apply this to the first tee, what are the actions and behaviours that will help us strike that first shot with the highest chance of the desired outcome?
Step one, is to become comfortable in the surroundings, and learning to enjoy them. This relates to what we talked about last month about focusing on your reasons for playing the game, and remember that the motivation to play is not all about the result of the first tee shot.
Step two, is to become boring! Now this doesn’t mean in the conversations you have with your fellow players, it means that your actions are consistent and repeatable before you strike the ball. The key here is to make all your actions accountable, that means they are not rooted in superstition, no three waggles for luck, no lucky rubbing of hands, every part of the process has a purpose that you can rely on to ensure you are as consistent as possible.
Every individual can develop there own routine, but here is a simple routine to get you started, remember this routine is aimed at mentally preparing you for the first tee. The key is to reach the point of ball striking with a clear plan of the shot and how you are going to implement it, no more hitting and hoping, a routine that makes you feel comfortable and confident.
Stand two metres behind the tee markers, and visualise the shot you are aiming to play, and where you want the ball to land. Focus on where the ball will land on a long tee shot, as this is the portion we can control, and not the bounce and role of the ball which we cannot.
Take one or two practice swings which serve two mental purposes, firstly to ensure that your swing is comfortable and to rehearse the shot you want to play, ensuring that the practice swings replicate the shot you are about to play, and are not just random fast swishes of your driver which serve no purpose. Secondly they are a great way to calm yourself by focusing on the process and rhythm of your swing.
Approach the ball, and ensure your alignment of stance, ball position and clubface are in place (this relates more to mechanical processes but must become part of your routine).
Finally when you are comfortable and before you begin your swing I want you to ask yourself if you’ve done everything possible to give yourself the best chance of success. If you can’t answer with a firm yes, walk away and start again (make this your key goal!).
If the answer is yes, then let it become the trigger to start your swing, safe in the knowledge that preparation and consistency will soon have first tee nerves a thing of the past.
Next time, we’ll talk about days when we’re on the 14th hole shooting five under our handicap and our mind wanders to thoughts of your best round ever, only to then shoot double bogeys all the way home!
A well known tour professional uses only golf balls numbered 5 to 8, and another well known tour professional marks his ball with a coin, head side down.
The answer is that the first professional uses ball numbered 5 to 8 to help him identify his ball as they are less common, whereas the second professional marks his ball with a coin tail side up because he believes if he doesn’t he will miss his putt. The difference is that the second routine has behaviours that are based on superstition. Now consistency in our routine is what we are aiming for, but the key is consistency through each behaviour and action having a reason that is not based in superstition.
So let’s start to apply this to the first tee, what are the actions and behaviours that will help us strike that first shot with the highest chance of the desired outcome?
Step one, is to become comfortable in the surroundings, and learning to enjoy them. This relates to what we talked about last month about focusing on your reasons for playing the game, and remember that the motivation to play is not all about the result of the first tee shot.
Step two, is to become boring! Now this doesn’t mean in the conversations you have with your fellow players, it means that your actions are consistent and repeatable before you strike the ball. The key here is to make all your actions accountable, that means they are not rooted in superstition, no three waggles for luck, no lucky rubbing of hands, every part of the process has a purpose that you can rely on to ensure you are as consistent as possible.
Every individual can develop there own routine, but here is a simple routine to get you started, remember this routine is aimed at mentally preparing you for the first tee. The key is to reach the point of ball striking with a clear plan of the shot and how you are going to implement it, no more hitting and hoping, a routine that makes you feel comfortable and confident.
Stand two metres behind the tee markers, and visualise the shot you are aiming to play, and where you want the ball to land. Focus on where the ball will land on a long tee shot, as this is the portion we can control, and not the bounce and role of the ball which we cannot.
Take one or two practice swings which serve two mental purposes, firstly to ensure that your swing is comfortable and to rehearse the shot you want to play, ensuring that the practice swings replicate the shot you are about to play, and are not just random fast swishes of your driver which serve no purpose. Secondly they are a great way to calm yourself by focusing on the process and rhythm of your swing.
Approach the ball, and ensure your alignment of stance, ball position and clubface are in place (this relates more to mechanical processes but must become part of your routine).
Finally when you are comfortable and before you begin your swing I want you to ask yourself if you’ve done everything possible to give yourself the best chance of success. If you can’t answer with a firm yes, walk away and start again (make this your key goal!).
If the answer is yes, then let it become the trigger to start your swing, safe in the knowledge that preparation and consistency will soon have first tee nerves a thing of the past.
Next time, we’ll talk about days when we’re on the 14th hole shooting five under our handicap and our mind wanders to thoughts of your best round ever, only to then shoot double bogeys all the way home!
Monday, April 20, 2009
First tee nerves!
Last month we talked about how golf is not a game of perfection, but how many of us worry about hitting the perfect first tee shot, and let our nerves get the better of us?
So does this ring any bells?
Pull a grubby looking ball and a tatty looking glove from your bag whilst making your way to the first tee. Then take your drivers head cover off and begin to franticly swing as hard as you can, your hands trembling slightly. You take a quick glance around to see who is watching from the clubhouse window, before muttering a quick prayer along the lines of “don’t top it again”. As your nerves start to shake your legs, you hurriedly tee up, trying to get it over as quickly as possible before slicing a shin high rocket into the mixed four ball coming down the 18th.
Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but some of you may well recognise something of yourself in the above. So what can you do to ensure you are mentally prepared for the first tee? A simple two stage process is the key, firstly handling your nerves, and secondly developing your own pre-shot routine.
This month let’s first look at handling first tee nerves.
The first thing to note here is that everyone gets nervous on the first tee, from the high handicap Sunday amateur to the seasoned pro’s who will tee it up in April on Tea olive, Augusta’s pleasantly named but intimidating first hole. Even the great Jack Nicklaus hooked one into the tree’s there in 1991, I’ll tell you later what Jack did next!
Nerves are a key component associated with peak performance, the problem comes when we associate nerves with poor performance and negative thoughts and emotions. So let’s look at why we play golf, what motivates us to go and play? Competition? Friendship? Exercise? These are all pretty common and valid reasons, and so if this is what motivates us what causes us to be nervous? The answer is we become nervous because we think about the outcome of that first shot, in other words, we become motivated by the result not the real motivators.
Let me ask you a question. How many shots is your first tee shot worth? Round of applause if you said one, yes just one, the same as every other shot, so the result of this shot is no more important than any other shot you will play all day. So why should we be more nervous about this shot?
Next time you arrive on the first tee, I want you to ask yourself a couple of questions. Are you motivated by healthy competition, getting exercise and spending time with friends? Or are you motivated by the result of just that first tee shot? Does it really matter if that first tee shot is not perfect? Take the focus away from the result of that first tee shot, place it on your real motivations for playing, and you will soon be on the road to seeing your nerves as healthy and vital to playing your best. Remember that nerves are a sign that you want to do well, and that to do well, you need them. Nervousness is your body’s way of preparing you for the optimum state of mind to succeed, learn to love them.
Next time, we’ll look at developing a simple first tee routine that combined with what we’ve talked about here will help you reach a level of mental comfort that many people refer to as the zone!
Oh yes, what did jack do after hooking his first tee shot into the trees at the Masters? Was his round finished? Did he focus on the result of that shot only? No. Jack marched down the first, into the trees, proceeded to hit a 2-iron over the Augusta pines, into the middle of the green, and rolled his putt in for a birdie, en route to a 4-under-par, 68!
So does this ring any bells?
Pull a grubby looking ball and a tatty looking glove from your bag whilst making your way to the first tee. Then take your drivers head cover off and begin to franticly swing as hard as you can, your hands trembling slightly. You take a quick glance around to see who is watching from the clubhouse window, before muttering a quick prayer along the lines of “don’t top it again”. As your nerves start to shake your legs, you hurriedly tee up, trying to get it over as quickly as possible before slicing a shin high rocket into the mixed four ball coming down the 18th.
Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but some of you may well recognise something of yourself in the above. So what can you do to ensure you are mentally prepared for the first tee? A simple two stage process is the key, firstly handling your nerves, and secondly developing your own pre-shot routine.
This month let’s first look at handling first tee nerves.
The first thing to note here is that everyone gets nervous on the first tee, from the high handicap Sunday amateur to the seasoned pro’s who will tee it up in April on Tea olive, Augusta’s pleasantly named but intimidating first hole. Even the great Jack Nicklaus hooked one into the tree’s there in 1991, I’ll tell you later what Jack did next!
Nerves are a key component associated with peak performance, the problem comes when we associate nerves with poor performance and negative thoughts and emotions. So let’s look at why we play golf, what motivates us to go and play? Competition? Friendship? Exercise? These are all pretty common and valid reasons, and so if this is what motivates us what causes us to be nervous? The answer is we become nervous because we think about the outcome of that first shot, in other words, we become motivated by the result not the real motivators.
Let me ask you a question. How many shots is your first tee shot worth? Round of applause if you said one, yes just one, the same as every other shot, so the result of this shot is no more important than any other shot you will play all day. So why should we be more nervous about this shot?
Next time you arrive on the first tee, I want you to ask yourself a couple of questions. Are you motivated by healthy competition, getting exercise and spending time with friends? Or are you motivated by the result of just that first tee shot? Does it really matter if that first tee shot is not perfect? Take the focus away from the result of that first tee shot, place it on your real motivations for playing, and you will soon be on the road to seeing your nerves as healthy and vital to playing your best. Remember that nerves are a sign that you want to do well, and that to do well, you need them. Nervousness is your body’s way of preparing you for the optimum state of mind to succeed, learn to love them.
Next time, we’ll look at developing a simple first tee routine that combined with what we’ve talked about here will help you reach a level of mental comfort that many people refer to as the zone!
Oh yes, what did jack do after hooking his first tee shot into the trees at the Masters? Was his round finished? Did he focus on the result of that shot only? No. Jack marched down the first, into the trees, proceeded to hit a 2-iron over the Augusta pines, into the middle of the green, and rolled his putt in for a birdie, en route to a 4-under-par, 68!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Today's Golfer
Hi,
Just a quick note to say that you can read my new column in the next issue of Today's Golfer in the UK, out end of February 2009!
Go on, buy it... you know you want to!
Kieran.
Just a quick note to say that you can read my new column in the next issue of Today's Golfer in the UK, out end of February 2009!
Go on, buy it... you know you want to!
Kieran.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Being a perfectionist is not perfection
So I’ve recently been talking to a lot of people of people who could really only be described by me and them as perfectionists. Now an individuals search for perfection is not a problem, in fact that desire and passion is a great thing but channelling that spirit in the right direction can sometimes be hard work.
Along with that perfectionism there is often an over sensitive self criticism which unchecked can often create a destructive mind set in the quest for perfection.
A good example of this perfectionism coming hand in hand with self criticism is professional sportsmen and in particular golfers. The list is endless, from Nick Faldo to current rising star Nick Dougherty, these guys share that search for perfection, and can often be seen as overly self critical. Of course this self criticism often takes on a negative form and can then impact performance.
What is important to remember is that in particular golf is a game of imperfection, in that it is not always about reaching perfection, but coping with pressure, adversity and consistency. When allowed to separate the natural perfectionism from self criticism a golfers game may be able to reach near level of perfection. Understanding that the game is not perfect and loving and embracing that fact is a great step to moving towards perfection. In fact it could be said that handling the imperfection is the key to finding a perfect game.
In a similar vain business and careers can be seen in a similar light. Many of the things we do in business may not be perfect or reach our own levels of perfection but the important lesson to learn and value is how you adapt, cope and handle the situation you are in rather than the end result.
Perfectionists often beat themselves up because the result hasn’t matched their own high standards and this self criticism can affect confidence, performance and to a certain extent expectations. But in business and sport, often it is not about perfection it is about “getting a result”.
Sport and in particular golf (but I could give you examples from football, rubgy, and many more) is littered with examples when it’s about getting the result rather than the way you play. This is not to say that a level of performance is not desirable, but at the end of the day the result is everything. Of course you could argue it’s not about if you win or loose but how you play the game, but we are talking about people whose perfectionism (there desire to perform perfectly) can affect the outcome achieved. This is about people whose quest for possibly unattainable levels can affect performance in business, careers or sport.
Let’s take the example of a job interview.
A perfectionist whose self criticism is incorrectly channelled would tend to look at the negative aspects of there own performance whilst ignoring the end result or failing to appreciate the situational factors affecting the result they desire. What is important is understanding what you can and can’t affect and ensuring that you are as prepared for the things you can affect and ignoring or at least not focusing on the things you cannot affect. When this is a performance situation such as completing a task, it is important to remember that it is the result that is the goal, and channelling your own quest for perfection towards outside factors is only likely to result in a drop in performance. Think of Doug Sanders in 1970 (google it if you are too young!) on the 18th green at St Andrews, was he influenced by outside factors or focused on things he could affect?
Along with that perfectionism there is often an over sensitive self criticism which unchecked can often create a destructive mind set in the quest for perfection.
A good example of this perfectionism coming hand in hand with self criticism is professional sportsmen and in particular golfers. The list is endless, from Nick Faldo to current rising star Nick Dougherty, these guys share that search for perfection, and can often be seen as overly self critical. Of course this self criticism often takes on a negative form and can then impact performance.
What is important to remember is that in particular golf is a game of imperfection, in that it is not always about reaching perfection, but coping with pressure, adversity and consistency. When allowed to separate the natural perfectionism from self criticism a golfers game may be able to reach near level of perfection. Understanding that the game is not perfect and loving and embracing that fact is a great step to moving towards perfection. In fact it could be said that handling the imperfection is the key to finding a perfect game.
In a similar vain business and careers can be seen in a similar light. Many of the things we do in business may not be perfect or reach our own levels of perfection but the important lesson to learn and value is how you adapt, cope and handle the situation you are in rather than the end result.
Perfectionists often beat themselves up because the result hasn’t matched their own high standards and this self criticism can affect confidence, performance and to a certain extent expectations. But in business and sport, often it is not about perfection it is about “getting a result”.
Sport and in particular golf (but I could give you examples from football, rubgy, and many more) is littered with examples when it’s about getting the result rather than the way you play. This is not to say that a level of performance is not desirable, but at the end of the day the result is everything. Of course you could argue it’s not about if you win or loose but how you play the game, but we are talking about people whose perfectionism (there desire to perform perfectly) can affect the outcome achieved. This is about people whose quest for possibly unattainable levels can affect performance in business, careers or sport.
Let’s take the example of a job interview.
A perfectionist whose self criticism is incorrectly channelled would tend to look at the negative aspects of there own performance whilst ignoring the end result or failing to appreciate the situational factors affecting the result they desire. What is important is understanding what you can and can’t affect and ensuring that you are as prepared for the things you can affect and ignoring or at least not focusing on the things you cannot affect. When this is a performance situation such as completing a task, it is important to remember that it is the result that is the goal, and channelling your own quest for perfection towards outside factors is only likely to result in a drop in performance. Think of Doug Sanders in 1970 (google it if you are too young!) on the 18th green at St Andrews, was he influenced by outside factors or focused on things he could affect?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Make your mistakes faster
Ok, so the first thing to say is that failure is just a word. Seriously, just a word, it’s something that we have made up, like every other word, and what is a word, it’s just a sound or representation that describes something, which symbolizes and communicates meaning.
But what can we learn, what are the real lessons of failing? I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, learn from your mistakes, take the positives from the negatives, etc. There are plenty of coaches and development teachers who will tell you that kind of thing.
But surely there’s more to it than that? Well I think there is a stronger psychological lesson we can learn and use to help us in our careers, businesses and lives in general. I want to take that a little further and see if we can find something a little more modern and actually useful.
It kind of worries me (and raises my suspicions about them) when I hear people say such things as “I’ve never failed” or “I always get what I want”. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for success and making things work, but I don’t believe that for most people success is obtained with no failure. The beauty of failure is the lessons learned and as we’ve already mentioned, these failures are about as rich a source of learning as you are going to get.
So, over the last decade of working and studying (and making mistakes, I’m not ashamed to admit it! Some of my failures have without doubt helped shaped the way I am today in a positive way.) I’ve learnt that often when you fail, and you stop or give up, that failure begins to embed itself deep inside you. Then of course that begins to affect your attitude, your outlook, your optimism, they are all affected, and you begin to exhibit what would be described as “learned helplessness” which is basically the mindset that says why bother? I’m not even going to try; I’m just going to fail again. You feel like you have no control over the situation.
On the other hand if you say “What just happened” or “What can I learn” and that becomes your focus you will begin to gain an insight into failure and the reasons behind it. Now this is not something that necessarily happens instantly but the idea of reframing that negative situation with some positive outlook or view will undoubtedly help to produce a more experienced, wise and rich character.
In fact I’d go so far as to say that regardless of the price (and I’m talking sensibly here, as in the grand scheme of things you are still able to pick yourself up and try again, you know... what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, etc.) of that insight it may well be worth it. So as long as you can take something away from that failure, that “Oh yeah, I get it” moment, then it’s worth failing, it’s a priceless lesson.
So there’s lesson one, point one, whatever you want to call it... learn the lesson of your failure and let that failure make you a richer person.
But of course that’s not the end of it, and how does failure help you succeed. Well if you look at any successful business man, say Sir Richard Branson (easy target, but serves the point) he has failed as much as he’s succeeded. But would he change the failures? I suspect not, and more over I suspect he would say that he was glad they happened then and not now, as obviously now it would cost him a lot more to fail than it would have done earlier on.
This sense of looking at failures as a positive learning experience is a key difference with unsuccessful people, who of course cannot get over that failure and do not learn lessons, so perhaps the only way in a broader sense to fail is by failing to learn from them.
So how can this be put into practice in a business situation? What are the practical implications of this?
Firstly, it’s fairly obvious to say that as humans and individuals we hate looking bad in front of others, but the key to making a failure a success is to fail fast!
By that I mean, if something if failing it is much better to stop it, fix it, end it, resolve it or whatever, the key is to recognise failure, intervene and move on.
Problem is, and especially in a corporate or business situation, when we screw something up or fail, our first instinct is often to hide it, or to sit on it, or even to try and fix it (when potentially we don’t even know what has gone wrong in the first place). Of course because you’re in a situation of something going wrong usually because you didn’t know how to do it correctly in the first place that attempt to fix may even compound the failure.
But how did this mentality arise? Possibly because in a business or corporate situation when things go wrong, people will see it as negative, they will attach blame, they will be made to feel like they are in trouble, they may even start looking for (or be made) scapegoats.
So by encouraging a situation where people are comfortable to admit mistakes or talk about or address problems they have, it can only be good for everyone. The sooner the screw up is found, the cheaper it is! So the quicker you can develop a mind set or culture where finding a failure the quickest is a win, the better.
For managers and organisations – Encourage a culture where spotting failures is a win, and I’m talking business failures (system, operational, etc) not pointing the finger at people.
For individuals – Embrace failure and learn from it, the lessons learnt almost always out way the price paid in the long run.
But what can we learn, what are the real lessons of failing? I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, learn from your mistakes, take the positives from the negatives, etc. There are plenty of coaches and development teachers who will tell you that kind of thing.
But surely there’s more to it than that? Well I think there is a stronger psychological lesson we can learn and use to help us in our careers, businesses and lives in general. I want to take that a little further and see if we can find something a little more modern and actually useful.
It kind of worries me (and raises my suspicions about them) when I hear people say such things as “I’ve never failed” or “I always get what I want”. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for success and making things work, but I don’t believe that for most people success is obtained with no failure. The beauty of failure is the lessons learned and as we’ve already mentioned, these failures are about as rich a source of learning as you are going to get.
So, over the last decade of working and studying (and making mistakes, I’m not ashamed to admit it! Some of my failures have without doubt helped shaped the way I am today in a positive way.) I’ve learnt that often when you fail, and you stop or give up, that failure begins to embed itself deep inside you. Then of course that begins to affect your attitude, your outlook, your optimism, they are all affected, and you begin to exhibit what would be described as “learned helplessness” which is basically the mindset that says why bother? I’m not even going to try; I’m just going to fail again. You feel like you have no control over the situation.
On the other hand if you say “What just happened” or “What can I learn” and that becomes your focus you will begin to gain an insight into failure and the reasons behind it. Now this is not something that necessarily happens instantly but the idea of reframing that negative situation with some positive outlook or view will undoubtedly help to produce a more experienced, wise and rich character.
In fact I’d go so far as to say that regardless of the price (and I’m talking sensibly here, as in the grand scheme of things you are still able to pick yourself up and try again, you know... what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, etc.) of that insight it may well be worth it. So as long as you can take something away from that failure, that “Oh yeah, I get it” moment, then it’s worth failing, it’s a priceless lesson.
So there’s lesson one, point one, whatever you want to call it... learn the lesson of your failure and let that failure make you a richer person.
But of course that’s not the end of it, and how does failure help you succeed. Well if you look at any successful business man, say Sir Richard Branson (easy target, but serves the point) he has failed as much as he’s succeeded. But would he change the failures? I suspect not, and more over I suspect he would say that he was glad they happened then and not now, as obviously now it would cost him a lot more to fail than it would have done earlier on.
This sense of looking at failures as a positive learning experience is a key difference with unsuccessful people, who of course cannot get over that failure and do not learn lessons, so perhaps the only way in a broader sense to fail is by failing to learn from them.
So how can this be put into practice in a business situation? What are the practical implications of this?
Firstly, it’s fairly obvious to say that as humans and individuals we hate looking bad in front of others, but the key to making a failure a success is to fail fast!
By that I mean, if something if failing it is much better to stop it, fix it, end it, resolve it or whatever, the key is to recognise failure, intervene and move on.
Problem is, and especially in a corporate or business situation, when we screw something up or fail, our first instinct is often to hide it, or to sit on it, or even to try and fix it (when potentially we don’t even know what has gone wrong in the first place). Of course because you’re in a situation of something going wrong usually because you didn’t know how to do it correctly in the first place that attempt to fix may even compound the failure.
But how did this mentality arise? Possibly because in a business or corporate situation when things go wrong, people will see it as negative, they will attach blame, they will be made to feel like they are in trouble, they may even start looking for (or be made) scapegoats.
So by encouraging a situation where people are comfortable to admit mistakes or talk about or address problems they have, it can only be good for everyone. The sooner the screw up is found, the cheaper it is! So the quicker you can develop a mind set or culture where finding a failure the quickest is a win, the better.
For managers and organisations – Encourage a culture where spotting failures is a win, and I’m talking business failures (system, operational, etc) not pointing the finger at people.
For individuals – Embrace failure and learn from it, the lessons learnt almost always out way the price paid in the long run.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Server
So why would you start a business?
Freedom to pick your own working practice?
You don’t want a boss?
You want to be your own boss?
To do something you enjoy or have a passion for?
Well, yes, all of these idea’s are great reasons for being the boss, but what I’ve noticed more and more is that many bosses (or entrepreneurs) I know are in fact almost held hostage by the business or organisation.
What I want to talk about briefly today is how these people end up in this position of being held hostage and more importantly what they can do to set them are there businesses free.
So what are the statistics? Not good, I think. Something like 80% of new businesses fail within the first year, and then of the 20% that survive that first year, 80% of them fail within five years. So 96% will fail! That’s not a good statistic!
But what about that 4%? Well some may say that they may be the worst off! How many of the bosses or owners of those 4% are actually trapped within that business? The life is literally sucked out of them! The day to day problems, people who don’t do there job, supplier issues, cash flow issues, systems problems, the list goes on and on.
But how does this happen, and what can you do to get out of this cycle and to do the things that made setting your business up in the first place worthwhile? How do you escape the “prison of the founders”, not the best name I know!
So the first point would be to understand what I like to think of as “the server”. Now we all know what a server is, but not many of understand how they work, right? So this can be seen within a new business. What do you do when you run up against a challenge, say technology, well you hire someone in or your source someone to solve that problem. Now the business incorporates this new solution, and grows up around it, and of course becomes to rely on it. This of course can happen for many different areas of a business, but the point is the same. The control is lost, and the system, programme or person becomes the controller. So point one… no servers! I don’t mean literally, I mean, avoid allowing one aspect of the business to control or to allow one person to hold all the information on “the server”, keep the control and understanding.
So briefly, how do you go about keeping the control? Well, when you run into a problem, you must take the time and effort to learn something about how the solution works, so you at least have the ability to log-in or check-in from time to time on it. I would go as far as to say, you should bring in a third party (mentioning no names, but I guess you can see where I am going with this) who would be up-skilled and learn the new systems, and routines, so you as a business have a fail safe if your initial source is lost or runs into problems. For minimal investment, you therefore gain an expert in your business, and you loose “the server” effect and remain in control.
There are many more prisons, such as micro-management, that we will discuss shortly, but lets leave it there for now. As ever your feedback and comments are welcomed, this is to spark conversation and debate, and not an instant fix.
Freedom to pick your own working practice?
You don’t want a boss?
You want to be your own boss?
To do something you enjoy or have a passion for?
Well, yes, all of these idea’s are great reasons for being the boss, but what I’ve noticed more and more is that many bosses (or entrepreneurs) I know are in fact almost held hostage by the business or organisation.
What I want to talk about briefly today is how these people end up in this position of being held hostage and more importantly what they can do to set them are there businesses free.
So what are the statistics? Not good, I think. Something like 80% of new businesses fail within the first year, and then of the 20% that survive that first year, 80% of them fail within five years. So 96% will fail! That’s not a good statistic!
But what about that 4%? Well some may say that they may be the worst off! How many of the bosses or owners of those 4% are actually trapped within that business? The life is literally sucked out of them! The day to day problems, people who don’t do there job, supplier issues, cash flow issues, systems problems, the list goes on and on.
But how does this happen, and what can you do to get out of this cycle and to do the things that made setting your business up in the first place worthwhile? How do you escape the “prison of the founders”, not the best name I know!
So the first point would be to understand what I like to think of as “the server”. Now we all know what a server is, but not many of understand how they work, right? So this can be seen within a new business. What do you do when you run up against a challenge, say technology, well you hire someone in or your source someone to solve that problem. Now the business incorporates this new solution, and grows up around it, and of course becomes to rely on it. This of course can happen for many different areas of a business, but the point is the same. The control is lost, and the system, programme or person becomes the controller. So point one… no servers! I don’t mean literally, I mean, avoid allowing one aspect of the business to control or to allow one person to hold all the information on “the server”, keep the control and understanding.
So briefly, how do you go about keeping the control? Well, when you run into a problem, you must take the time and effort to learn something about how the solution works, so you at least have the ability to log-in or check-in from time to time on it. I would go as far as to say, you should bring in a third party (mentioning no names, but I guess you can see where I am going with this) who would be up-skilled and learn the new systems, and routines, so you as a business have a fail safe if your initial source is lost or runs into problems. For minimal investment, you therefore gain an expert in your business, and you loose “the server” effect and remain in control.
There are many more prisons, such as micro-management, that we will discuss shortly, but lets leave it there for now. As ever your feedback and comments are welcomed, this is to spark conversation and debate, and not an instant fix.
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