Control Outside Influences With Your Mind

One of the most powerful abilities of your mind is that it can actually bend reality so that you can overcome problems both on the day, and also over the long-term.

I once heard a true story about a group who became trapped inside a cave whose entrance became sealed by a landslide. Only one person had a watch on, and so to stop the others worrying about how long they had before their oxygen ran out, every TWO hours he announced to the group that ONE hour had passed.

This made the others feel that time was going slowly, and that they actually had more air left in the cave than they really did!

They were eventually rescued - and had all survived, except for one, the owner of the watch who knew the real time!

This shows how we have the ability to bend our reality to suit us better.

Believe it or not, we can use this ability every day on the golf course - instead of viewing some problems as insurmountable, we cancreate a new reality for ourselves, which allows us to mentally cope with these situations better, plus hit better shots in those situations. Here's a few situations where you can use this method, and you will be able to create countless others of your own.

For instance, one of the things we need to eradicate on the golf course is the emotion of disappointment. This emotion, if left unchecked, can create havoc with the remainder of your round.

For instance, if you chip onto the green, only to find that it rolls way past the pin and leaving you with a 20 or 30 foot putt - often this result can cause emotions of annoyance and disappointment, which sometimes creates a chain reaction of a 2, 3 or even 4-putt situation to finish the hole!

This is because the expected result (or maybe even the hope!) was that the shot would finish near the hole, and so anything less is regarded as unsatisfactory and disappointing. This is a classic situation where we can bend reality a little - for instance, you could (instead) imagine to yourself that this could have been an impossible 50 foot putt, but now it is only a 20 footer - and reminding yourself that this is within the realms of reality that you can make this shot.

So what's the difference between these two mindsets when hitting this particular shot? The difference is that one is hit with negative emotion, and the other is hit with positive emotion - and believe me, the results finish very, very differently! Basically this means that you are instead turning every situation around to suit yourself, using an attitude of optimism (because remember that we don't get what we deserve, we get what we expect).

Bending reality can be done in thousands of different ways on the golf course - so this means that from now on (as far as your mind is concerned), you can make every situation suit you perfectly - regardless of your lie! Be creative and practice coming up with new ways of making the situation suit you each and every time - you will notice the difference in your results.

For instance, using this new mindset during your play (as opposed to some classic negative reactions you often see to these situations!), you might find yourself thinking some totally new thoughts, such as:

"Great, there's only 6 people at the first tee - not 20 - so I can relax and go for my shot!".
Or "this water in front of me is my friend, I don't have to worry about it or focus upon it, it won't bother me anymore". Or "I have extra power today, I'm going to be able to make the green in one today".

Now, let me get make this point very plain: this will never guarantee that you will hit a good shot - but it will ensure you are giving yourself the best possible chance - and that is exactly what you want.

Of course, all this philosophy will simplygo out the window if, when you occasionally (still) get a bad result, you then fly off the handle into a fit of anger! Remember, if you don't get what you want, go into damage control, and move on.

Remaining calm and in control is just a matter of bending your reality to suit yourself, until eventually, you may even feel as if you simply cannot go wrong. This technique can also be employed into your regular visualization to overcome long-term problems.

Some golfers are very sceptical about trying these unusual methods initially, only to be very surprised at the huge difference in their results - and this is one of those techniques. Never be afraid to try something new, it might make all the difference!

"The Mind controls the body, and the Mind is Unlimited"

The best of success, Craig Townsend

Golf Tips Archive  |   Mental Training Program

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