You have a choice: listen to your story, or keep swinging
“My little mantra to myself was keep swinging; keep swinging hard at it even if you’re not hitting fairways, just keep swinging,”
Tim O'Connor
Tim O'Connor is a golf coach, an award-winning writer, and speaker. Tim takes a holistic approach, coaching golfers in the physical and mental aspects of golf. He co-hosts the Swing Thoughts podcast, and is the author of The Feeling of Greatness: The Moe Norman Story and Getting Unstuck: Seven Transformational Practices for Golf Nerds. He plays bass in CID — a Guelph punk band!
The futility of trying to make sense of something that cannot be understood
I’m learning that grief is strange. I’ve found the greatest solace comes when I recall a particular memory with Corey or, say, study a picture of him and drop fully into the pit of my anguish.
Make it your intention to play with intention this season
Intentions also foster heightened awareness of what we’re doing, thinking and feeling. They help us stay present. They remind us that when we react when we inevitably screw-up, we can respond by focusing on our intentions.
The performance heebie-jeebies: you get ’em, we all get ’em
Confidence comes from being under pressure, making mistakes and recovering from them. From these experiences, you learn that you can overcome the many vagaries of the game and those in our life.
My come-to-Bruce moment: How I learned to stop thinking and actually listen
Something was released in me that had always been there, but I had bottled it up behind a façade of reserve, a need to stay vigilant and protected.
Ack, we lost. Do we have another choice but to writhe in agony? Well, yes
Maybe this loss, which sucked and still sucks, will be one day be looked upon for the Jays, for the hard-core fans and everyone who jumped on board, as a gift.
Will our agony watching the Blue Jays be rewarded by ecstasy?
I coach highly aspirational golfers who are seeking to overcome their mental heebie jeebies when they most want to play well, which is what we all want—for ourselves and for the teams we root for.
No one wants to hit bad shots but “avoidance” makes them more probable
Focusing on what you want to avoid means you’re worried about the future. Focusing on the task at hand allows you to be in the moment, present.
How do you perform well in high pressure moments?
We’ve all watched journeyman golfers with the lead late in a major. Almost invariably, they stumble while more experienced players hold steady. What’s the main difference? Usually, it’s experience.
