Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a powerful skill that can help us manage our minds, which improves our ability to stay focused. Stray thoughts, even positive ones, can detract us from the task at hand: a smooth swing.

Golf differs from most sports by having so much inactive time as part of the game. This is part of the innate difficulty; we have too much time to think. We can’t stay in a focused mode of attention because that is not a good use of energy. However, we can’t drift so far from our ideal state that it is too difficult to get back to. The upside is that this downtime presents us with the opportunity to course correct. If everything is going great, we need to keep our expectations in check. If there is something wrong, we can often work out the kinks.

Being able to focus consistently is instrumental to better everything. From an ability to perform perspective, our ideal mindset is almost observing ourself perform. This requires us to be fully present, external factors tuned out. We have a soft focus (in that it feels easy to be here). Our mind and body are mostly on autopilot. We may have one thought but certainly no competing thoughts. We are not judging nor overthinking, just fully present. As with everything else that we do, this is a skill that can be developed.

Most often, our focus is derailed by our thoughts. How we think is a set of habits. We are in the habit of listening to whatever thought comes to the forefront. This is not always the best strategy. So we need to learn that our thoughts are, using Alan Watts’ term, happenings.

We don’t choose what to hear and can’t choose not to hear something. If we’re focused, we may not hear something. Similarly, our thoughts just happen; we don’t choose them. Our inner narrative tells us that those thoughts are ‘us,’ the self. Our thoughts generally feel natural; we sort of expect a thought that aligns to our self (be really weird to have strangers do our thinking).

Saying a thought out loud is feeding it–which is the whole argument behind Bad Words.

Acknowledging these thoughts and entertaining them results in a chain of similar thoughts. If we just objectively notice that a thought is there and decide whether or not to feed it, we are able to rewrite our thinking patterns.

While this doesn’t have to be accomplished through meditation, it is a dedicated practice that can be used to train the mind. So let’s address how to practice, how to pull yourself into focus, and how to stay focused.

Training

The practice here is focusing on something (breath, object you’re looking at, mental image, whatever). When a thought wanders into our head, we identify it a stray thought and return attention to our anchor.

If we do that for five or ten minutes a day, we will get better at catching our minds wandering and returning to focus. This also makes it easier for us to stay focused.

Many people find habits easier to develop with structure. There are numerous resources available to help you find what works best for you, regardless of your experience meditation.

While we want to dedicate time to practice this to best cultivate the skill, life presents us countless opportunities. Throughout your day, work to focus better on whatever you are doing. As soon as you start thinking about something outside of that task, notice the thought and let it go.

Cueing Attention

Many people will use a physical cue to help them transition into their golf mode. Tugging a shirt sleeve, a deliberate foot tap, or taking a deep breath; the action itself doesn’t matter. What matters is that it is a good trigger for you.

That said, a deep breath or two as part of your pre-shot routine, whether your focus-trigger or not, is helpful to attention management. It signals the parasympathetic nervous system to take over, dialing down the fight-or-flight response; in other words, calming down and allowing focus on the task at hand.

I don’t recommend using a mantra as a trigger. Mantras are great, and may be an important part of your pre-shot routine. However, motivational as they may be, from an action perspective, they are ineffective. This is because there is not a mechanism directly attached. Additionally, our narrative changes over time. We can change our focus-triggers, but a good one reinforced through habit most likely doesn’t need to change.

Notice the Distraction

The next time you are struggling with focus, make a note of what is going on. Is there too much noise? Playing partner(s)? Pace? Wanting to score a certain number? Argument from nine years ago? Fixating on a poor shot?

Look at what is going on. Just like in our post-shot routine, we want to be objective. Consider if there is anything that you can do in the moment to improve your focus. If not, let the thought go and return your focus to the task at hand.

Summary

Committing to a mindfulness practice, even if it is just to improve your focus while playing, is incredibly powerful. It is also likely to bleed over into the rest of your life. However, this is not a quick fix. Changing our most fundamental habits–how we think–is going to take a lot of time. You have years of reinforcing your current mode of thought.

But if you put in the time, the change will happen. Keep working at it, and you will better understand your thoughts and emotions. This will allow you to identify your triggers and change their associated habits.

Remember, just a little better every day is all it takes.