Do you find yourself striving to play better and yet no matter how hard you try, keep finding yourself not getting the success you deserve? Well guess what? You're missing the Magic Touch. As humans we all make mistakes, the difference with a mentally strong athlete is, that they learn from the failures and decipher what it is they have that helps them to succeed. They learn how to use their emotions, decisions, thoughts and pressure, to work in their favour rather than against them.
The Magic Touch
Let me explain what I mean. Take a look at the drawing, the Green Circle is where most athletes operate from. Its where we take control over what we do. Typically this is how we practice, train in the gym, eat and prepare to play in competition. Our belief system being, the harder we train, the more we practice, the better we become.
The golden circle is our goal - SUCCESS. It's our desire to win.
Most of you reading this article believe that doing everything in the green circle will lead to the golden circle. Well it's true working on all of those aspects will improve your fitness and technical ability but without the MAGIC Touch, it will not bring you the success you desire.
Mentally Tough athletes set themselves apart form others, by knowing how to access the MAGIC when they perform. They understand the magic ingredient, is actually themselves. The factors in the green circle are simply the fuel, the golden circle of success is the finish line in the race. Without a vehicle never the twain shall meet. The vehicle being YOU!
Mentally Tough Athletes understand during competition, there will be times when their emotions are out of control and others when they are in check. They understand the ebb and flow of competition; at times the game will be easy and others it will become difficult. Regardless of the situation, they remain the same person and fully understand what it takes to succeed.
They keep their expectations low, but continue to make high demands on their processes to achieve. Forever analysing their performance, they learn how to improve for the next event. Each time they play, they see it as a learning process, its never determined, but a way of continuously improving.
Mentally Tough Athletes are willing to sacrifice a lot to reach success, the biggest sacrifice being their ego. So many athletes find this difficult to do, as they believe their performance defines them, but in reality it hinders their progress. They continue to strive to improve the aspects in the green circle, spending more time perfecting each one, instead of finding the MAGIC touch. Focusing purely on the green circle, will only lead to Performance Frustration.
Now I'm not suggesting for one moment that you give up training, on the contrary training is important. But understanding how you apply the training is where the MAGIC happens. Mentally tough strategies are about understanding your emotions, limiting your expectations and being able to persevere through the tough times. Knowing how to tap into your emotions so that they work with you, when you need them the most. Being confident in your ability, so that you can trust your competitive mindset rather then hoping to find it in the game, will differentiate you from the field of competitors.
Knowing you have that secret weapon, that your opponents are missing is incredibly powerful. It's so powerful and effective why wouldn't you want develop one for yourself? Being able to compete successfully under pressure is far more effective than hitting a 300 yard drive, if you then miss a putt because of nerves. So if you would like to learn how to tap into your own magic, to develop a strategy to help you overcome your challenges and win please contact me.
If you would like to learn more about the mental side of the game please get in touch or check out our other blogs, there's something in here for everyone.