How to prepare for 2021

Reconsider the Past Before Conquering the Future

The new year is already here (thank goodness), and avid golfers at every level of the game will be thinking about what they hope to achieve in 2021. The process, for some, will be so invigorating they’ll make a game-changing or life-changing resolution. And for many, it will mean a firm commitment to goals aligned with the golf of their dreams. It’s great stuff, and it’s a mental effort that’s absolutely required if producing better results on the golf course is important in your life. But, as a mental specialist with decades of experience, here’s three words you need to hear before you start moving toward a future featuring better play and lower scores … not so fast.

Reconsider the Past Before Conquering the Future

A burning desire to achieve your dreams is an essential aspect of success, but it’s not the whole equation. Before you envision becoming a more consistent ball-striker, carding the lowest rounds of your life, or see yourself holding a coveted trophy, it’s vitally important to take your eyes off the future long enough to establish an empowering picture of your past. Truth be told, I learned this the hard way. In my early days as a coach, I focused exclusively on the future. I was enthused about goal-setting, planning, and visioning. I’d help my clients map out their desires, identify obstacles on the path, and develop strategies for overcoming each. The results for my clients (and in my own life) were good … but not great. Fortunately, having the opportunity to mentor pro athletes and senior executives inspired me to study the workings of the subconscious mind … the part of us that maintains our habits, filters our experience, and more to the point of this article, establishes boundaries on what we can be, do, and have in life. And from this study, I learned that the memories we prioritise — whether wittingly or unwittingly — shape our future efforts. Here it’s helpful to think about memories as creating chapters in the ongoing book of your life. Whether it’s your personal life, your career, or your golf game, it seems important for the subconscious mind to have the next chapter logically follow the one(s) previous. Now, if you’re like the rest of us, you made great shots,

mediocre shots, and terrible shots last year. You had great rounds, mediocre rounds, and brutal rounds. You enjoyed a hot streak or two, and likewise, fell into a slump or two. And like the majority of golfers, you’re probably inclined to emphasise your worst swings and your worst rounds. You’ll mentally highlight miss-hits more frequently, and feel them more intensely, than your best moments. It’s not your fault. Being quick to identify problems and threats is an evolutionary aspect of human nature that’s enabled us to survive and thrive. But the tendency to emphasise the negative and downplay the positive can make things difficult when it comes to achieving your most meaningful goals — in fact, it’s a genuine stumbling block — because the subconscious mind tends to make this year’s dominant emotions the ongoing themes in the next chapter of your life. And no matter how much you want things to be different, if most of your mental energy was given to disappointment, frustration, or anxiety on the golf course last year, your script will, in all likelihood, fundamentally remain the same in 2021. I’m sure you’ve experienced it yourself or witnessed it in others. When we set a goal that’s outside the arch of our current story (or self-image, if you prefer), we invariably sabotage the achievement of that goal. We get injured at the wrong time, resurrect a bad habit or create a new pattern of behaviour that distracts from our best effort, or choke when the big moment is at hand. But just as your future isn’t set in stone, neither is your past. You can, and should, shape your perception of what happened.

Manage Your Memories

If you purposefully highlight your best moments from 2020, and you set goals aligned with the arch of that story (even if your new goal is a significant stretch), you’ll move forward with a deep feeling of confidence. You’ll feel as if you’re meant to achieve this level of success … as if destiny was somehow at work. There will be obstacles and setbacks. You won’t suddenly go from consistently choking in tournaments to being as cool as Brooks Koepka under pressure. Yet somehow, someway, you’ll notice an internal shift in your attitude, and your efforts will bring you closer to, if not directly on, the bullseye of your desires. Let me repeat: Before you decide on a future goal, it’s essential to manage your memories in a way that sets the stage for the improvement you desire. I’m not talking about constructing a fantasy and hypnotising yourself into believing it. No matter how much editing I do with my story, I’m not going to qualify for the Champions Tour next year. And you won’t be sleeping in Butler Cabin on the eve of the Masters. So this isn’t about trying to convince yourself that you’re one of the best golfers in the world when you’re not the best golfer in your county. It’s about becoming deeply convinced — via the truth of your own experience — that you have what it takes to author a story about the future that improves upon, and perhaps dramatically improves upon last year’s results. Here I want to be very clear. I strongly suggest that you actually do the following exercises. Don’t gloss over this work. As the old Nike slogan said, “Just Do It.” Simply reading the remainder of this article — even if you happen to agree with what I’m writing — will not yield anything beneficial for your game. Application is the key. So grab

a pen and paper, set aside 30-60 minutes of undisturbed time, and give the following your undivided attention. Hey … it takes what it takes. And besides, your game is worth it!

Step One

Make a list of your best golf moments of 2020. ~ 3 best rounds ~ 3 best holes ~ 3 best drives ~ 3 best par 3 tee shots ~ 3 best fairway woods/hybrids ~ 3 best irons ~ 3 best recoveries ~ 3 best up and downs ~ 3 best lag putts ~ 3 best made putts ~ 3 funniest moments ~ 3 best times with friends ~ 3 best courses/settings The secret here is letting yourself relive each moment. Let your mind travel back in time. Be there once again. See what you saw. Hear what you heard. Make things vivid. Notice the beauty of your surroundings. Call to mind your playing partners. Hear the swish of your club and the sound of your ball on the clubface. See your ball flying toward its target. Hear the ball rolling around the bottom of the cup (or, in Covid times, perhaps softly hitting the flagstick). Close your eyes, take your time, and inhabit each memory as if it was happening once more. You aren’t fabricating events or twisting the truth. But you are selectively highlighting your best memories. Give this exercise an honest effort, and you’ll convince yourself — at a deep level —that you have what it takes to hit great golf shots, make great putts, and play great rounds. It’s the key to developing the confidence required to play your best golf when it matters most.

Step Two

Now, make a second list. ~ 3 most difficult/disappointing moments Everything in golf isn’t a bed of roses. If you played enough in 2020, there’s a chance you experienced a devastating moment where you blew an opportunity to achieve a meaningful milestone. Or perhaps you experienced a demoralising slump, and if it lasted long enough, you wondered if you’d ever get your ‘A’ game back. Such “negatives” are an unavoidable part of golf at every level. But the real problem isn’t the fact they happened. It’s failing to learn from them. Let me make an important distinction: When I talk about learning, I’m not talking about gathering more information or increasing your understanding. I’m talking about using your imagination. It’s mental images, not ideas, that exert the greatest

influence on personal performance. It doesn’t matter if you’ve analysed your mistakes enough to write a Ph.D. thesis. What matters, in terms of your future performance and results, is seeing yourself, in your mind’s eye, performing in a way that corrects your mental or physical mistake and re-writes the memory with a better ending. The key here is reviewing pivotal memories still carrying a strong negative emotional charge. Take the moments you just listed one at a time. As you call each to mind, use your imagination to stand back from the memory and make sure you can see yourself in it. It should be like you’re watching a video on the YouTube of your mind — and you’re in it. This will help you detach from the negative feelings connected to the memory and allow you to edit it in the same way a director of a movie decides a scene must be re-done. In this re-imagined moment, be sure to watch yourself execute golf shots. Notice how getting the learning in your bones changes your pre-shot routine, your in-shot routine, or your post-shot response. Notice how changing what you do also changes the results of each shot. Notice if the change improves your score on the hole and your final score for the round. Whether the shift is subtle or dramatic, your mind needs to identify the change as something you’ve already accomplished. Now that you’ve done this important inner work… well…congratulations are in order. By spending time with step one and step two, you’ve re-written last year’s chapter of your golfing life in a manner that can and will empower what comes next. Well done. And speaking of next, tune in again next week, and I’ll share a process that will build on the work you’ve done here and further enhance your chances of playing your best golf in 2021.

Step Three

Begin by taking a few minutes to relax your body and mind. Inhale slowly … and exhale fully. As you breathe deeply, consciously relax the muscles in your shoulders. When you’re comfortable and at ease, close your eyes and let your thoughts move forward into the future … to a specific moment in time … an upcoming event/tournament/round that will be especially important to you this year … See yourself playing a hole, from tee to green, as if you watched yourself in a YouTube video. It could be the first hole, the final hole, or any hole in between.

What’s important is this … ask your imagination to let you watch yourself playing the golf of your dreams. Make a mental note of what you see. Notice your body language, gestures, facial expressions. Watch yourself go through your pre-shot

routine, your set-up, and your swing. Watch how you respond to each shot and putting stroke. Watch for as long as it takes to see yourself walking off the green with the hole completed. Now rewind to the very beginning of the hole, and this time, step inside the image and live it as if it’s happening now. Where does your attention go during your pre-shot routine?

Where does your attention go during your in-shot execution? Where does your attention go during your post-shot response? Note how it feels to be doing what you’re doing at this moment. Finally, with your mind still connected to this imagery, ask yourself this question

The Left and Right Brain

Basically, we think our thoughts in one of two ways; analytically or imaginatively. Perhaps you’ve heard the terms Left brain and Right Brain before … but the essential idea is this: We can think in a logical, analytical manner replete with rational arguments about why something’s right, or something’s wrong (the Left Brain), or, we can think in ways that are intuitive, imaginative, and deeply connected to emotion (the Right Brain). Here’s what’s important for an avid golfer to know: Traditional goal setting is mostly an analytical activity. We logically choose a target, then plan a path to achieve it. It’s good stuff, but it’s not great stuff because it doesn’t produce the passion and persistence required to create a breakthrough performance on a personal level. What I’ve found more powerful for my clients is a goalsetting process that’s mostly about imagining. Please note I’ve used the word mostly twice in the previous paragraph because I want to underline this truth — we think analytically and imaginatively simultaneously. I’m not telling you to disregard or discard logic and engage in a flight of fantasy. I’m saying this — to get the maximum from goal setting, place the majority of your mental effort on the intuitive, imaginative, creative side of the equation.

Here’s An Example

Perhaps an everyday example will be instructive here. Let’s say you’re driving home one evening, and the idea of pizza for dinner pops into your mind. You consider your options and choose vegetarian toppings instead of meat lovers because your partner prefers the former, and you’re good with both. The process only takes a few seconds, and while you rationally weigh your options, your mind will conjure up images. But the mental pictures will be fleeting, and you won’t immerse yourself in any of them. In the end, if there’s not enough feeling in your thinking, you won’t call home to make the suggestion, and your attention will quickly move on to a different topic. In such moments, you’re using both left brain and right brain thinking, but the weight of your mental energy is mostly on the side of your logical, left brain. But what if you placed the majority of your energy into imaginative thinking and immersed yourself in the pictures unfolding on the screen of your mind? What if you pulled into a parking lot and shut off your car, then closed your eyes and imagined yourself at home, reaching out to open the lid on a still-warm pizza box? And what if, in your mind’s eye, you separated a slice, gave it a close look, and brought it up to your mouth … pausing for a moment to savour the smell? And what if your mental imagery was so vivid you felt the heat of the crust in your hand … and as you taste that first bite … well … you know what pizza bliss tastes like, don’t you? Now that inner experience would feel different, wouldn’t it? In the latter example, you’re giving most of your mental energy to imaginative thinking. And the more you create a sensory experience in your mind’s eye — as if it was actually happening — the more likely you are to call home with a strong recommendation for pizza tonight.

Going Beyond Normal Goal Setting

You see … what you rationally think influences what you do, but what you vividly imagine powerfully influences what you do. And that’s why I’m not helping you set a goal in the traditional sense of the word. Regular, run-of-themill goal setting isn’t intense enough to take you where you want to go. Besides, in all likelihood, you already know how to set SMART goals. There’s nothing wrong with establishing goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. They make good common sense … and, in my experience, are well-suited to managing front-line employees in a business context. However, to fulfil your golfing potential, you’ve got to lean on your right brain. Just as you must be creative to get up and down from a tricky lie, you must creatively use your imagination — on yourself —if you want to be the best golfer you can be. Here you might note that I’ve yet to ask you to identify your specific goal or goals for 2021. And you might be wondering … how can I accurately imagine a goal I’ve yet to set? Well … good question. And here’s the answer. I don’t want you to begin this process using analytical thinking; I want you to end there. You see … if you begin with left-brain logic, your ego will want to worm its way into the process. Chances are you’ll sell yourself short because of a fear of failure, or you’ll get carried away by some grandiose idea of who you “should” be. After decades of coaching clients, I’ve come to trust that imaginative, intuitive thinking will always surface a truer, more meaningful image of what you can achieve. Therefore, let’s establish your primary goal for 2021 by relaxing, letting your thoughts drift imaginatively into the future, and discovering what your subconscious mind intuitively knows is possible for you. In the same way that you make more putts when you instinctively trust your line, and you’re not over-thinking the stroke required, I invite you to find a quiet, uninterrupted space and let your mind go where the questions lead. Mental strength is comparable to physical strength. If you hired a worldclass trainer, and he/she designed the perfect fitness program, you wouldn’t do the workout once and never go back again. You know you’ve got to pay a price today to achieve something meaningful down the road. And the price, on the mental side of the game, is time and attention. You don’t need to sit cross-legged, light candles, and put yourself into a trance for an hour. But you do need to take a few minutes — regularly — and imagine living inside the golf of your dreams. It’s a small investment because once you become familiar with the process, Step Three will take less than five minutes to complete. Yet, it can bring a gamechanging return. Let me close by stating the obvious: As with anything worthwhile in life, transforming your golfing aspirations into reality isn’t easy or inevitable. And getting one thing right won’t be enough, on its own, to guarantee success. It really is comparable to baking. You’ve got to include all the right ingredients, in the right measure, at the right time … and you’ve got to set the oven at the right temperature and time things just right. It’s part science and part art. And with that said, all I can promise is this — commit to practicing the process I’ve described, and you can be absolutely assured you’ve added a quality carrot to your carrot cake. •