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The Power of Your Thoughts

Diane

Diane

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Something I read in another thread got me thinking about the power of postive thinking vs. negative thinking. Does one have more power over you than the other? What exactly does this thinking entail - do you envision your ball going into the hole in the case of the positive or into the water in the case of the negative? Or is it just confidence vs. a "doom and gloom" attitude? Or would you consider yourself to be a realist? I like to address my ball and tell myself that I can do it - usually out loud. It seems to be helping. What do you do and how do you counteract any bad thoughts?
 
I believe the dark side has more power...but that's just my take.Sometimes thinking positive doesn't always end up that way but negative thoughts have a way of coming true more often than not.That's just my 2 cents.However if you don't have negative thoughts wouldn't that mean your thoughts are positive?Is there a middle of the road thought?
 
I think positive thinking has a lot of power but it can't make miracles. If you have negative thoughts coming into something, it will more than likely turn out negative. I think the term self fulfilling prophecy is apropos here.

IMO positive thinking is best paired with positive practice. If you see yourself performing the shot and know how to perform the shot, it allows your body to flow through the shot just as you imagined it.
 
interesting topic.


i usually stand behind the shot and try to visualize the ball flight/roll that i want the ball to take. addressing the ball i focus on the outside right edge of the ball and the feeling of the grip in my hand. i continue feeling the grip through-out the shot and watch the ball disappear.

where it goes from there is anyone's guess.


oh. and i pray. which is usually followed by cursing. so i have all my bases covered.
 
snicker.doodles said:
interesting topic.


i usually stand behind the shot and try to visualize the ball flight/roll that i want the ball to take. addressing the ball i focus on the outside right edge of the ball and the feeling of the grip in my hand. i continue feeling the grip through-out the shot and watch the ball disappear.

where it goes from there is anyone's guess.


oh. and i pray. which is usually followed by cursing. so i have all my bases covered.
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you copied my game:at-wits-end:
 
i've tried positive thinking and negative thinking.


thinking, in general, for me....clearly is useless. nothing worse than making the turn on fire...that's spells doom. and likewise....if i'm 8-over thru 9.....i know i'm good for a solid +1 round on the back...with a triple. lol.


i play schizophrenic golf.
 
I had a friend who called positive thinking "imagineering". Her contention was that if you wanted something, you had to be able to imagine it happening so strongly that you could see yourself doing it repeatedly. She did not believe that it would happen automatically, but that if you imagined it happening and practiced it physically as well as imagining it, you increased your odds.

I believe it works. Many times I have had the opportunity to put this to the test and it does help. Positive thinking with positive reinforcement through practice is a powerful tool.
 
It's much easier to fail than to succeed at just about anything...except maybe breathing. So if you think you are going to fail you probably will many more times than if you went into the same situations with non failing thought process.

Now for me I am pretty much the type of guy who goes into just about any thing with a "let's give it a try and see what happens. Good bad, or indifference, let's see how it goes". (I am most definitely like this when playing golf) That is everything except casino gambling. Even though I live in Vegas, I do not gamble, except to bet on some NFL games, and play in some live poker games. Now, my wife on the other hand gambles, and wins because she figures she is going to win. She has a positive thought process about video gambling machines. Plus, she can shoot craps with the best of them. Picture a little 4'9" woman standing with the big boys throwing dice. My "negative" reasoning is if she is the winning gambler in the family, then I would be the gambling loser of the two of us. I have to rely on just pure luck to win. A hole in one is pretty much pure luck. So I don't gamble per se. Maybe a few quarters here, and there, but that's about it.

Now I do play with money in the form of investments, and such. It's just another type of gambling, but I know I am good at it, because I have a lot more control than if I were in a casino some where, bucking their odds. I have a very positive thought process with my investments.

When car buying, the dealership loves me. I figure no matter what I do, I am going to get screwed anyway. Part of it is because I don't have a very high opinion of those car salesman to begin with. So I go into this adventure with a negative attitude, and wind up paying more than I probably should for the vehicle. It's a "I want that one, here's the money, give me the keys, see you later" kind of deal with me.

So I suppose I have both positive, and negative thought processes that I draw on from time to time. :confused2:
 
My wife listens to "The Secret" on CD every morning as she's getting ready for work, the basic principal of this secret is that the laws of attraction apply with your thoughts and words. If you think something good will happen and position yourself for it, something good will come. If you fill your mind with negative thoughts and negative words then only negative will come. I'd say a good 50% of what they talk about on those CDs sounds like a B.S. line, but some of it really makes sense and also really applies to golf.

I have the Dr. Bob Rotella book "Your 15th Club" and a lot of that is also talking about your conscience mind vs. your sub-conscience mind and how your thoughts of your own game can have such an impact on your results, both negative and positive. It's a great book, I highly recommend it.
 
It depends on how good I am playing, once a bad hole comes, I'm gone, it's always negative thinking. It's just how I am, On a good day it's all positive.
 
I know i can do it,i just keep telling myself that.
 
Just when I tell myself it can't get any worse...it does. Positive thinking doesn't always work :banghead:
 
thanks1974 said:
Just when I tell myself it can't get any worse...it does. Positive thinking doesn't always work :banghead:
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Please don't be offended, but your glass does seem to be half empty a lot of the time.
 
Negative thoughts definetly seem to have more power over me and my game. When things start to go wrong, I find it very difficult to pull myself out of it.
I try to envision the ball doing what I want it to, but most days I either have it or I dont and all the positive thinking in the world isnt going to change that.
 
Diane said:
Please don't be offended, but your glass does seem to be half empty a lot of the time.
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I prefer to think of it as being more realistic. Why spend all your time in the clouds when all the action is on the ground? Positive thinking only gets you so far and can sometimes distort the reality that's around you. I think if you don't have a fair mix of positive thinking and what you may call 'glass half empty' then you're setting yourself up for some failures.
 
My opinion is that if you approach any task with a positive attitude, the results will be better than if you approach from a negative angle. That doesn't mean that it will all be rosy, but it's going to give you a better chance of success at whatever goal you are striving for. That is never more true than it is for a golf shot.

In golf, so many things have to go right to make a good shot, and it starts with the right mental attitude. When they say the the game of golf is 75% mental, they aren't just talking about course management. Part of that mental aspect is the attitude with which you approach each shot.

When Sam addresses the ball with the thought, "OMG, the lie is crap, I'm screwed, the golf gods hate me," he has mostly nailed the coffin shut before he starts his swing.

I would approach the same shot with the thought, "Ok, the lie is nasty, so this is what I have to to do to salvage something from the situation." I've just given myself a better chance at success than Sam has. Not a guarantee, but a better chance.

Anyway, that how I see using a positive approach on the course.
 
Diane said:
Something I read in another thread got me thinking about the power of postive thinking vs. negative thinking. Does one have more power over you than the other? What exactly does this thinking entail - do you envision your ball going into the hole in the case of the positive or into the water in the case of the negative? Or is it just confidence vs. a "doom and gloom" attitude? Or would you consider yourself to be a realist? I like to address my ball and tell myself that I can do it - usually out loud. It seems to be helping. What do you do and how do you counteract any bad thoughts?
Click to expand...

I do not think about the negative stuff that can happen, hazards or whatever, also I try not to look at hazards once I know where they are and where I want to go with the shot. I make a point of just looking at the target. Never look at where you don't want the ball to go once you get over the ball. Your subconscious will take over and you will hit it in the water, or in the bunker or wherever, if that is the last place you look before hitting the ball. I do try to visualize the shot beforehand but only if I am hitting something other than just a straight shot. I would say I am a fairly neutral thinker on the golf course - neither overly positive or negative. Once I get lined up I try hard not to look at or think about anything but hitting the ball until after I hit it. If I get distracted by a cart pulling up to the tee or a bird squawking or something I will back off and start over most of the time. Once I was distracted by some ants on the ground near the ball right before I hit a putt and I missed the putt, from about 2 feet away.
 
Realistic Positive Thinking

Realistic Positive Thinking

I strive to be a positive thinking person even when it's hard. I choose to be that way because my personality works better thinking about good things and good results. Several years ago I would allow the double bogey man to effect my game for the rest of the day. After surviving cancer ( prostate removed) and two skin cancers removed, the double bogie man does not have as much power. I just look at my imperfect game and realize, bad stuff, especially on the freaking golf course, is going to happen. Sooner or later, the double bogey man is going to eat your lunch. Life and certainly golf is not fair nor perfect. Get over it, be a man/woman and kick that double bogey mans butt and move on. Smile :D until it hurts :eek:) Heck fake it till ya make it. I don't think you can just turn on positive thinking. You have to make it a life style on and off the course. Then you are cooking with Crisco :eek:)
 
Interesting topic. Golf is a funny game though. At one time or another I have birdied every hole but one on my home course. That tells me that I have some ability to play this game.

BUT, I have to remind myself what I am capable of doing. And in golf that can be a very difficult thing to do. For example, have you ever shot a really good score one day and a really bad one the next? Same person. Same equipment. Same course. Same weather. What happened from one day to the next?

Where does consistency come from and why is it so hard to achieve? Single digit handicappers have it, but the majority of us don't. Does it come from practice, if so, how much? Does it come from our attitude as we start the round? Natural ability? Was the PGA correct when they said that if a golfer has been playing for three years their game at the end of year three is probably as good as it will get. I doubt it, but they must have some stats to back that up.

Positive thinking can play a role, but it's just one of many roles in golf. Believing and saying, "I just know I will drive this 540 yard par five," may sound good but will it happen? Probably not.

Even if I am having a bad hole I will try to derive some positive benefit from it. For example, if I am lying six next to the green on a par four, instead of thinking about that I'll focus on getting up and down. I won't think about the eight I just scored, but the up and down I just made.
 
Is positive thinking the same as confidence?

Kevin
 
Esox said:
Is positive thinking the same as confidence?

Kevin
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That was part of what I was trying to get to when I started the thread. I don't think they're the same thing, but rather each enhance the other.
 
I would say that positive thinking gives you a chance to succeed. Negative thinking pretty much guarantees failure. Golf is a hard enough game that the negative thoughts can trigger poor results nearly all the time.

I would however differentiate positive thinking from confidence. You can't fake confidence (not to yourself anyway). You can say however much you like that you're going to succeed, but if you don't believe it you probably won't. Confidence is the feeling that you are going to succeed. It's a nice feeling, but not one that can be generated just by wanting it.

The other thing I'd say is if you're standing in the fairway 150 yards away, looking at the green, thinking "i'm going to hit the green" is not a good thing to think. For a start, if you don't hit the green, your confidence will take a dent. Much better to think about your target, together with something like "I'm going to give myself the best chance that I can to hit the green". If you miss, you still gave yourself the chance, so you don't have the incongruence to worry about and also it's more dissociated from the result and focused on the process. The process we can control. The results happen as they happen.
 
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