WIN THE MIND GAME
by Margaret Munoz ND DBM, DipCH, MATMS
Peak Performance Specialist

IS YOUR SCORE STUCK IN A "COMFORT ZONE"?

If making a decision on what golf score you wanted was a conscious process, you would just decide what score you wanted and use your knowledge, skills and strategies to get there. However, there are patterns and habits of thought in the unconscious which govern our behaviour. A “comfort zone” is simply a mental set as to where you belong, subtly operating in the background at a subconscious level all the time in all areas of your life such as income, social status, education level, weight – and yes, in golf!

Your vision of yourself as a golfer
Your body may know how to shoot any shot perfectly – you might have hit a perfect drive on many occasions and have the experience and ability to shoot 10 strokes (say mid 70’s) more than you do – but you don’t - you stay where you are. Why? Because that’s your vision of yourself as a golfer and it has a very powerful influence on how you play. You may have a great front 9 – a 38 which, if duplicated on the back 9, brings you to 76 instead of 85. This is way outside your comfort zone and the overwhelming likelihood is that you will completely blow the back 9 to bring you right back to the mid 80’s where you “belong”. Even if you do score in the 70’s your self talk is likely to be “What a lucky day, I’ll never do that again” – and of course, you’ll be right!

There are all sorts of unconscious reasons why we get stuck – maybe you’d lose your group of friends if you went to another level, maybe you’d feel uncomfortable having a much better score than your boss. The fact that you may be stuck in a comfort zone is a fascinating concept to start exploring. Once you begin to become aware of this possibility you can take action to step out of the boundaries of your comfort zone into the score of your desire.

Read more of Margaret's tips in her free monthly e-newsletter "BEING YOUR BEST". To subscribe simply send an email to margaretmunoz@optusnet.com.au with "subscribe" in the subject line or phone (02) 9713 1956.

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