June 26, 2007
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That Ever Elusive Confidence
When you hear the word confidence what do you think of? Just for a moment recall a time when you felot confident while playing golf. Don't glance over this and keep reading. Take a moment and think about it. No, FEEL about it!Confidence may be many things. For example some people, when recalling a confient moment, might notice their surroundings and the brightness of things and how things looked and this is what they really remember most.
While others will recall their self talk and the quality of how they spoke to themselves. It can be a very internal feeling flowing through your body. And of course it can be ALL of these, and often is when we take the time to truly explore ourselves.
Yet where does confidence come from? For many people this is how they see it: when I hit the ball well I feel confident and when I don't I don't! Or "when I play well and score well I feel confident and if I shoot poorly my confidence gets eroded."
Finding Your Source of Confidence
For most every player in the game confidence is the result of good play. Ok, this sounds completely obvious and beyond discussion doesn't it? What if I could show you a method whereby every memory of inner confidence in your life could be used as fuel for you to shoot the lowest scores of your life?Why wait until good things happen on the course to allow yourself to feel confident? This might sound absurd yet read on...
Of course we must have some ability to hit the ball a certain way and get the ball in the hole to play well. Yet these are not the cause of confidence. Confidence is a choice and is best experienced in advance.
Right now imagine you're going for a very important job interview, which is a serious hike up the pay ladder. Would you wait until the interview was over before you felt confident or would you want to fill yourself with confidence prior to walking in the room? Ahhh, now it's making sense isn't it...
Confidence is a Choice
You make the choice, however unconsciously this might be at present, to feel confident or not. The fact you missed the putt and you lost confidence in your putter is a choice. The missed putt didn't "cause" anything. Your internal representations of that moment caused you to make talk to yourself in a certain way, flash pictures in your mind and feel certain feelings that helped you feel a lack of confidence.We choose the states we experience on the golf course and anywhere in life. So why not choose powerful, resourceful and effective states that set you up to play your best!? I worked with a client for only one session on this area and the way he began to play blew him away. He was able to step deeply into his most confident state BEFORE he'd even hot a shot and play with confidence regardless of how well he hit the ball.
Take some time before you play to relive confident moments and really make them vivid. Don't just let them float through your head. Use them as fuel for your own potential! Needless to say, the processes to accomplish this are expanded on with my clients and in the mental game program for those who truly want to make playing their best a habit.
Remember, what you're currently experiencing on the golf course is a habit that's been formed over time. Imagine how exctiting it will be to make shooting your personal best scores a habit. It's worked for many clients and for myself. It is exhilarating to play this way...
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Wade Pearse
Keeping you on target!
The Mental Game of Golf
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