{"id":473,"date":"2010-07-21T23:54:42","date_gmt":"2010-07-22T06:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/robertfagan.com\/?p=473"},"modified":"2025-03-18T17:06:39","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T00:06:39","slug":"great-expectations-aren-t-great-for-golf-or-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/robertfagan\/coaching\/473\/great-expectations-aren-t-great-for-golf-or-life","title":{"rendered":"Great Expectations Aren\u2019t Great For Golf or Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\"\"<\/a>\n

This lesson will address why it is that when you often feel great and have really high expectations, you will often produce a very disappointing performance in golf and in life, and a different outlook you might embrace.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe little that is completed, vanishes from the sight of one who looks forward to what is still to do.\u201d\u00a0 – <\/em>Johann Wolfgang von Goethe<\/em><\/p>\n

Ever go to the golf course and can\u2019t wait to play because you feel so good about your game?\u00a0 Maybe you have had a terrific warm-up session with all sorts of great expectations, and then followed it up with a bad score or disappointing play.\u00a0 Maybe you’ve had some really good rounds lately.\u00a0 Conversely, maybe you felt a bit ill or felt your game wasn\u2019t too sharp, but you surprised yourself by following with a great round of golf.\u00a0 It\u2019s happened to me many times as well as to players of all abilities.\u00a0 What\u2019s happening and what went wrong?<\/p>\n

While it is natural and desirable to feel positive, translating that into high expectations, more specifically expecting a certain result or outcome, stresses your golf game to the point of often braking.\u00a0 In Law of Attraction terms, you are leaping toward the future and not being fully present.\u00a0 This sabotages your scoring potential.<\/p>\n

When you set expectations of scoring really well, winning a tournament or match, qualifying for an event, or simply impressing others, you create a pre-set standard.\u00a0 That standard with all its emotional and mental constrictions interferes with your ability to be present, to focus on the shot at hand as you are always comparing your present situation to that pre-set standard.\u00a0 Secondly, you place additional pressure on yourself when you are hoping to alleviate pressure.<\/p>\n

When you don\u2019t live up to the standards of your high expectations, you are apt to press, try extra hard or on the other hand; you might begin to berate yourself.\u00a0 With every disappointment then comes added anxiety and frustration.\u00a0 Soon disappointment sets in, steals your confidence and composure, and your round is in shambles.<\/p>\n

So what expectations should you bring to the first tee?\u00a0 Here are two perspectives that should help you.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. E<\/strong>xpect the unexpected.<\/strong> No matter how you feel or the state of your game, treat each round and each shot as a new beginning.\u00a0 Your confidence in your preparation, your plan, your equipment, and most of all your ability to handle whatever challenge faces you should be your strong point \u2013 not your score 18 holes later or the outcome of the match.\u00a0 You are about to play the greatest game ever, so don\u2019t leap ahead to presume the results.\u00a0 In this way, you will not become so upset when you encounter a problem or bad stretch.<\/li>\n
  2. Expect the best, but be prepared for anything.<\/strong> This is a variation of \u201cexpect the unexpected,\u201d but means that you prepare for anything that the game can throw at you.\u00a0 One of the greatest match players of all-time Walter Hagen attributed his success to his belief that \u201cI know I have the skills to get the ball out of trouble and back into play.\u201d\u00a0 Notice that he didn\u2019t reference winning a hole or even a match, but to simply taking care of the task at hand.<\/li>\n
  3. Commit only to your commitment.<\/strong> The only expectation that you should carry onto the first tee is that you will focus on each target, trust your process and swing, accept whatever happens, and move on to the next shot.\u00a0 And by all means, commit to having fun!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This all spells the difference between being positive, hopeful, and optimistic to that of having high result expectations.\u00a0 Have you ever watched a touring professional fail to birdie the easy holes, yet compensate on the more difficult ones to have a good round?\u00a0 Tiger Woods does this quite often.\u00a0 Had he stressed over the failure to score on \u201cthe expected holes,\u201d he would never have been present enough to recover on the others.<\/p>\n

    Playing golf with the expectancy of being totally present with each shot and fully accepting the results is what allows you to shoot low scores and more closely reach your potential.\u00a0 Stay patient and leave your result expectations of anything else in your trunk, as your golf bag has no room for it.<\/p>\n

    Now think about the rest of your life.\u00a0 Take the word “golf” out and the lesson remains the same.<\/p>\n

    Exercise:\u00a0 Review your most disappointing rounds or the way you usually approach a round of golf \u2013 especially the important rounds.\u00a0 In your Golf Prosperity Journal list any result expectations that you might have carried with you onto the first tee.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe best thing about the future (substitute \u2013 golf) is that it only comes one day (substitute \u2013 one shot) at a time.\u201d\u00a0 – Abraham Lincoln<\/em><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n


    \n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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