Athletes' Amnesia

Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb recently struck a chord with Philly fans by claiming he had a "great" 2008 season.  Undoubtedly, some might cite the incident of not knowing that games could end in ties as evidence to the contrary.  However, the Philadelphia Inquirer spoke with famous sport psychologist Bob Rotella to get a different interpretation.

Rotella's take was simple:  "The great ones have instant amnesia - no matter what just happened, they're able to pull out the positive."  Rotella, who has worked numerous pro kickers (who, for obvious reasons, have to have a short memory) and championship golfers Trevor Immelman and Padraig Harrington, goes on to describe a common practice of Tiger Woods:  When answering a question about his drives being off line that day, he "talks about how good his course management was, how good he was putting it."

Of course, it's not that poor performances or mistakes aren't filed into memory for later points of improvement.  The important point here is that mentally tough athletes primarily focus on positive performances, both to build confidence and to use as examples for positive self-talk and visualizations later on.

While it seems obvious, the values of focusing on the positive cannot be overstated.  A focus on negative events can lead to negative self-talk and excessive anxiety in future performances.  However, by staying focused on the positive from a competition or a season, we can come away with a sense of accomplishment, pride, and use the experience to motivate us in the future.

Check out the whole Inquirer report here.

Golfers Anxiety

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

What is it about anxiety in golf? Is it the fact that you're alone against the course?  Or that others may be watching?  Why can one small swing fix work one day, only to leave us hanging the next?

While it may have many sources, we can all agree that anxiety in golf can be a crippling opponent.  However, when understood properly, it can be negated, or even turned to our advantage.  Part of the problem could be a general misconception about the nature of anxiety in general.  Many may believe that any amount of anxiety or nervousness is abnormal or wrong.  However, the truth is quite the contrary - everyone experiences certain amounts of normal, healthy anxiety before any performance task; this should not be our concern.  Rather, excessive amounts of anxiety which cause serious distress should be seen as an area for improvement.  Simply experiencing anxiety is a normal response.

For proof of this we need look no further than basketball great Bill Russell, who famously threw up before important games.  In fact, his teammates came to use that as a barometer that he was prepared for a big performance.

So, it is time for a newer understanding of anxiety for golfers, and all athletes.  Placing the expectation on ourselves that we should never be nervous or anxious can lead to a vicious cycle of fearing anxiety itself, then getting more anxious, then becoming self-critical, which in turn leads to elevated anxiety.  

Instead, our understanding of anxiety should be that nervousness and anxiety is a natural response, experienced by everyone, to stressful performance situations.  If we find ourselves becoming excessively nervous (as possibly indicated by some responses such as clammy hands, negative self-talk, or upset stomach), it might be time for some calming exercises such as a breathing-centering routine, stepping back from the ball and starting our pre-shot routine over, or some positive visualizations.  The final key to understanding anxiety is to remember that different people experience anxiety differently.  The key is learning our own anxiety responses and how we perform under duress, and modifying our routing accordingly. 

Read more about golfing anxiety from Medicus Golf here.