Don’t delay in making changes. Just do it!

This month is all about Einstein! He once said ‘The definition of madness is to keep doing what you have always done and expect different results’. So, as it is still early on in the New Year, I am going to challenge you to get out of your comfort zone!

You can now choose to stay exactly where you are with your game of golf and your current handicap – or you can choose to make the changes that will ensure you can achieve all your golfing dreams in 2008! In ‘The 7 Secrets of a Highly Successful Golfer’ we examine how our thoughts and feelings, our values and beliefs, the goals we set, and our behaviour, all influence the life we lead and the golf we play and now we are going to take a look at the final Secret in the series.

You now have the choice to create the success you want or to keep doing what you have always done – but please DO NOT be surprised when this time next year you will be in exactly the same place, with the same handicap (or higher) and still moaning about the same aspects of your golf that let you down!

I hope that this series has inspired you to examine some of those ‘beliefs’ that have held you back – ask yourself ‘How strong are those new beliefs that I have created?’

Are they stronger than the self-talk that keeps you safely but disappointingly in your comfort zone? Many years ago I was a script-writer; I had been commissioned to write and produce a video for the local council about starting your own business.

I had the opportunity to interview many self-made business people about what they believed had helped them to become successful, and the one interview that has stayed with me all these years was given by an accountant who had worked with many of these successful entrepreneurs.

I asked him what he believed the key quality was of the most successful entrepreneurs; he told me that many people came to him with great business ideas, but what separated the successful people from those who were not were those that actually just got on and DID IT!

You see, for many people, it is easier to talk out loud about something than actually to step out of their comfort zone and make it happen. So many of us have become experts in providing excuses as to why we are not where we would like to be – with golf or in life; we enjoy doing what comes easy even if all it does is to keep us stuck from achieving our goals.

I will make YOU a GUARANTEE that if you choose to do NOTHING about improving your game of golf this year then that is exactly what will happen … NOTHING! By accepting that you do not have any confidence in your ability to play golf, or that certain aspects of your golf are not very good and will always remain that way, you will continue to give yourself the
perfect excuse to justify poor results.

Your self-talk may go something like this – ‘I will never be any good at X,Y, or Z so why bother trying’, or ‘good things just don’t happen to me’. I am sure you can substitute your own example of negative self-talk here to ensure that you stay firmly in your COMFORT ZONE!

If you do not take risks you will not get disappointed; no-one will expect much of you because you do not expect much of yourself. People who are comfortable with losing tend to be ‘People Pleasers’. I coached a client who deliberately threw his game after a good run because one his fellow players would accuse him of being a ‘bandit’; we are all aware of this term as it implies that you are lying about your real abilities.

You need strong self worth not to allow this type of comment, however jocular, to influence how you play. Comments like this will often achieve the desired results and affect how the person plays. DON’T LET THE BULLIES WIN – they are usually simply compensating for their own inadequacies!

It’s time to take the first step and set your golfing goals for 2008. By achieving your goals your confidence and self worth will automatically grow. If you need more advice on how to do this then go to the website www.confidencecaddie.com and sign up for my FREE newsletter and you will get a FREE report on Goal Setting.

It’s time to step out of your comfort zone and make 2008 the year you achieve all your golfing dreams!

No excuses... just do it!