The Winners Mind and Way of Thinking CAN Be Learnt and Will Change the Way You Perform at Everything
What is the mindset of a winner and how will this help you perform better? It is fitting that at the time of writing this article the 2010 US Open is underway at Pebble Beach with Phil Mickelson in contention at the half way point and I recall in the 2006 US Open how Phil performed very badly.
Afterwards he received a real grilling from the media about his disappointing performance but remember that it was a grilling he allowed to happen.
Phil never backs away from talking about how good or bad he played and is not afraid to admit it, even now in the current US Open.
If he gets a day wrong and putts, drives or hits his irons poorly then he steps up and accepts responsibility and a willingness to bear all.
That takes some serious courage to do and shows that he may have a bad day but he still has the self belief, the winner's mindset that allows him to talk and relive the experiences without it affecting his performance in the next round.
He won't make excuses or avoid the truth and that self belief allows him to talk about his performance without feeling that he has a weakness that he does not want others to see.
A winner is not afraid to fail and is not going to go out of a competition wondering what would have happened if they gave it all.
Winners are willing to fail, they are not afraid of it and in fact use failure as a learning tool to move forward and perform better the next time.
Winners will not allow themselves to be stuck in their present performance because they are afraid of doing worse.
A winner will always test themselves and push themselves to higher levels even at the risk of playing worse for a while.
I see too many golfers who have arrived at a level of golf that they feel does not embarrass them and they can compete with it.
They would like to be better but are not willing to take any risk to achieve it.
This is not the mindset of a winner.
A winner will not stop when they feel comfortable.
Winners in all walks of life know that if you are not learning and moving forward then you will eventually get left behind by those who are willing to put their game on the line to improve.
In effect this means if you are not learning and moving forward, you are losing ground, going backwards.
When I play with my clients it is very rare that I will allow them to play off their full handicaps.
They need to be pushed and challenged to perform better, get out of their comfort zone.
This serves many purposes for both them and me as a coach, some of which are that I get to see them under pressure.
How do they handle it? Does their course management change and do they throw their toys out of the pram and blow a hole because they have to rise to a new challenge? Do all the blame and excuses come out or does the golfer simply get on with playing the game, no excuses and enjoying the challenge? Are you prepared to go through the pain of change, like learning new swing mechanics or new ways of thinking that will possible cause you to play worse for a while? Or will you moan about the changes having a bad effect on your game and then stop doing them and go back to your old ways? What is the way of a winner? Do they blame someone else and throw in the towel or do they keep going until they achieve the improvement they seek? Do you have a regular match against a friend? Are you up to the challenge of informing them that you are going to give up more shots voluntarily, so that you will have to raise your game? Are you willing to risk losing on a regular basis until you improve and move to that next level? Do you want to develop the mindset of a winner and get to levels of golf performance that very few achieve? It is through your mind and learning these important Mental Game of Golf principals to learn and develop the winners mindset and employ the on course thinking of great players in both the amateur and professional arena that you will achieve your best.
Afterwards he received a real grilling from the media about his disappointing performance but remember that it was a grilling he allowed to happen.
Phil never backs away from talking about how good or bad he played and is not afraid to admit it, even now in the current US Open.
If he gets a day wrong and putts, drives or hits his irons poorly then he steps up and accepts responsibility and a willingness to bear all.
That takes some serious courage to do and shows that he may have a bad day but he still has the self belief, the winner's mindset that allows him to talk and relive the experiences without it affecting his performance in the next round.
He won't make excuses or avoid the truth and that self belief allows him to talk about his performance without feeling that he has a weakness that he does not want others to see.
A winner is not afraid to fail and is not going to go out of a competition wondering what would have happened if they gave it all.
Winners are willing to fail, they are not afraid of it and in fact use failure as a learning tool to move forward and perform better the next time.
Winners will not allow themselves to be stuck in their present performance because they are afraid of doing worse.
A winner will always test themselves and push themselves to higher levels even at the risk of playing worse for a while.
I see too many golfers who have arrived at a level of golf that they feel does not embarrass them and they can compete with it.
They would like to be better but are not willing to take any risk to achieve it.
This is not the mindset of a winner.
A winner will not stop when they feel comfortable.
Winners in all walks of life know that if you are not learning and moving forward then you will eventually get left behind by those who are willing to put their game on the line to improve.
In effect this means if you are not learning and moving forward, you are losing ground, going backwards.
When I play with my clients it is very rare that I will allow them to play off their full handicaps.
They need to be pushed and challenged to perform better, get out of their comfort zone.
This serves many purposes for both them and me as a coach, some of which are that I get to see them under pressure.
How do they handle it? Does their course management change and do they throw their toys out of the pram and blow a hole because they have to rise to a new challenge? Do all the blame and excuses come out or does the golfer simply get on with playing the game, no excuses and enjoying the challenge? Are you prepared to go through the pain of change, like learning new swing mechanics or new ways of thinking that will possible cause you to play worse for a while? Or will you moan about the changes having a bad effect on your game and then stop doing them and go back to your old ways? What is the way of a winner? Do they blame someone else and throw in the towel or do they keep going until they achieve the improvement they seek? Do you have a regular match against a friend? Are you up to the challenge of informing them that you are going to give up more shots voluntarily, so that you will have to raise your game? Are you willing to risk losing on a regular basis until you improve and move to that next level? Do you want to develop the mindset of a winner and get to levels of golf performance that very few achieve? It is through your mind and learning these important Mental Game of Golf principals to learn and develop the winners mindset and employ the on course thinking of great players in both the amateur and professional arena that you will achieve your best.
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