Lessons in Golf Psychology: The Enemy is not our Thoughts
Golf is a game of competence and confidence. It is entirely unrealistic to tell anyone that a player who lacks physical skills can transform overnight into a pro by changing his thinking. We often attribute poor performance to negative thinking. They go hand in hand, physicality and mental strength. If you trust a pathetic swing, it’s going to produce bad shots. In Siff’s book “Thoughts are not the Enemy,” he describes that meditation consistency including the modern mindfulness movement allows our minds to wander on the contrary to trying to change what we think. Traditional meditation practices instruct us to be aware of thought only.
This particular meditation practice that Siff introduces invites all thoughts. He argues that the only instruction provided to us is to observe where our minds go, without owning them. The style narrows down to the ideas that are useful when competing. The more awareness we develop, the more we can tolerate original existing idea without the bother to change it.
So how does this tool relate to golf? Most people will tell you to block out negative thoughts, “ignore the water on the right of the green” and “think about the only place you want to direct your ball.” About these famous quotes, your mind is expected to focus and tune the game. Wrong! You have tried blocking the negative thoughts perhaps trying to ignore the water on the right of the green, but in the process, you end up giving it too much thought ignoring it. At times you get mad at yourself for not succeeding in it but what you don’t know is that you are doing it all wrong. We create unnecessary tension when trying to stop or control the negative thinking.
Once you can control your mind, you will need to use it to control your physical ability. The body itself cannot calculate the angles on its own. You have probably heard people say “muscle memory.” Your muscles cannot think nor memorize anything. No matter how much you practice a golf swing, your muscles along can’t remember it and execute it. If your mind is ever in pressure about getting rid of bad thoughts, the brain fails to function appropriately rendering your muscles to flounder. You expect a scorecard full of severe strokes.
I was glad that Jason mentioned “choice.” For most people, recollected awareness seemed to be somewhat a passive process. The meditator, in which our case should be a golfer, is asked to drown in a flood of restlessness and automatic recurring thoughts. The critique in mainstream meditation points out to the choiceless awareness we make rather than being aware of the choices we make. While deciding on when to strike the golf ball and to where you might get in the middle of some complicated decisions; like asking yourself what happens if you don’t hit the ball right. The little things take your mind off the most important details.
It only takes minimum disturbance to have you swing your ball to the moon. The lesson may be different from what you may have been taught in your golf classes, but the suggestion that we can compete at top-notch levels regardless of existing thoughts in our head might provide some relief to those who have diverted their efforts to thought-controlling techniques without a lot of success. The Strong mental game improves your instincts. You will never go wrong when you learn to trust your decisions at the right time. However, it requires practice.
Try and enjoy the stillness of consistent meditation. Eventually, it helps you gather high mental abilities. While at it, get your physical skills right. As much as you want to get your psychological strength built up, you can ignore your physicality. The mind itself can’t put that swing right. It’s a process that requires patience and consistency. If you linger too much on the thoughts and consequently ignore the body, you might get discouraged on the coursework.
Once the results start to turn evident, your confidence will build up. Our bodies react to the different degrees of certainty we’ve nurtured in our conscious minds. Once you play a shot confidently, the body performs at its graceful best. If you believe in yourself, you will think about what how you want the game to go down. On the other hand, if you don’t believe in yourself you will always think about what you don’t want to happen in the golf course.
Siff tries to convince us that thoughts are not the enemy of our ability to perform at superb levels. Poor performances stem not from the negative thoughts, but from the effort, we make to eliminate them. The ability to develop tolerance and awareness of our thinking will provide the focus and clarity we require to unlock our physical potential and no longer will what we pressurize ourselves on, matter.