If you are really into the game of golf, you can relate to experiencing a wide range of emotions throughout the duration of a game – excitement, proudness, anxiousness, disappointment, anger. Sometimes, you may even feel all of these emotions within just one round! The game can have a lot of ups and downs, and throughout all of the rockiness, it is important that you learn to cope and go with the flow no matter what happens and how well, or bad, the game goes. It can be difficult to control your emotions but is something that is vital to your personal success in life as well as your success on the course. Here are a few ways that you can learn to control your emotions throughout the game, which you can apply in your every day life:
- Control your conscious thought. Get a handle on the current thought that you have regarding your game and focus in on just that. Do not allow yourself to overwhelm your mind with several thoughts running through, especially if they are negative. You can easily control one thought, and it may be less overwhelming.
- Focus on the positive. Even if a shot or round did not go as you planned, try to find the silver lining. Perhaps you had another great aspect of your game that went successful. Give yourself the constructive criticism and focus on the next hole.
- Gain new knowledge. If a shot goes well, or goes horribly, ultimately it is a great way to learn – and what could be better than that? If something is successful, you know to repeat those motions in the future, whereas if a shot does not go how you would have liked, you can look into ways to improve that in the future.
- Fake it till you make it. In the game of golf, and in life, everyone should learn a skill set to “fake it till you make it.” Sometimes, you need to muster up the courage to hide your emotions on the course, especially in a business setting, and deal with them in a private setting.