#11

Welcome to Weekly Whispers #11

Which whisper did you hear from Week #10?

What were you thinking about as you drank your milkshake?

Did you practice optimism?

Did you watch the video?

I’ve been a golfer for many years and as it’s Masters Week (a major golf tournament happening in the USA) I thought I’d share what’s struck me about golf this week.

1. The more I practice the luckier I get (attributed to many sources)

The essence of the maxim being that the more you practice something the more you are likely to experience a positive outcome. However, the big distinction is the difference between deliberate practice and mindless practice.

See here for a couple of insights.

James Clear - Deliberate Practice Theory

The Science of Deliberate Practice

2. Hit your second putt first

This is my own take on an often experienced golfing phenomenon. Let me try and explain. Let’s say I have a 6ft putt that I think will move a little bit left to right over the contours of the green. I hit the putt on the line that I think will make it fall in the cup but I miss to the left. I’ve allowed for too much swing to the left.

I take the putt again remembering the outcome of the first putt and adjust my line a bit. The second putt often goes in.

So, the principle being, take the putt that you would normally hit second first because you’ve been able to adjust according to a previous experience.

Now I know what you're thinking. The second attempt could be more successful simply because I’ve had the first attempt, seen the outcome and adjusted accordingly. If I hadn’t taken the first putt I wouldn’t have the evidence of what to do the second time. This is of course very possible. However, on many occasions having played golf for a number of years, when I remember the principle of ‘hitting my second putt first’ then I mentally adjust and often it drops into the cup.

I wonder how often we unconsciously attempt something not thinking about our previous habits and patterns but if we did, we might experience a different outcome? I might have to work on writing my second explanation first 😊.

3. When you're in flow impossible is nothing

Check out this quick video of Jack Nicklaus educating Johnny Miller on what it means to be in flow.

4. Quotes of the week:

"Of all the hazards, fear is the worst" Sam Snead

Fear is a great protector and an equally great attractor. Whilst fear’s job is to protect us from failure, embarrassment, getting it wrong and all sorts of other uncomfortable experiences. It’s also a magnet for putting those experiences in front of us to test whether it’s doing its job or not! 

It reminds me of a great quote from Evan Almighty - "Don't wish for more patience. Wish for more opportunities to practice patience". So, don’t wish to avoid fear but wish for experiences where you can face fear consciously – then you can decide whether to walk away for another day or stay and find out whether the fear was helpful or not.

"Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots, but you have to play where the ball lies" Bobby Jones

Are you playing the infinite game of life with the hand you’ve been given? Are you doing the best with what you know? Are you stuck because of your circumstances? Do you take radical responsibility when life doesn't go your way?

“In golf, as in life, it’s the follow through the makes the difference” Dr Seuss 

Enough said! Follow through, follow through, follow through...or let go!

5. Freedom Fridays - My weekly experiment with time and focus

Episode 9 of the Freedom Fridays Podcast is all about the messy and mucky middle.

Click below to listen to Episode 9.

That's all for this week and I hope you enjoyed Weekly Whisper #11.

Feedback is my fuel so if you have any comments please hit reply and let me know your thoughts.

Cheers

Pete