Self Discovery

Wow - have been on a 3 day seminar with Mike Hebron and Susan Berdoy Meyers at the London Golf Club. Mike is a revered and respected golf coach, and Susan is rated as a top 50 coach in America. Actually I've still got one day left of the seminar but already feel like I've gained so much.

As someone relatively new to golf, it's been a very liberating and exciting experience. Liberating because coaching does not need to be complicated or technical - it's about communication and delivery, building rapport and relationships. Exciting because I'm on a journey of self discovery.

As a player, after listening to their philosophies and findings, through sharing their experiences, I feel a huge weight has been lifted. I played on Monday at Little Aston in a WPGA event and felt such discomfort throughout the whole round. After pretty much every shot, I was analysing and fixing - this led to frustration, tension, anxiety and doubt. I was trying so hard to fix: where my hands were; where my hips were through impact; where my weight was; what my posture looked like - so many things and all related to the body and not the tool!

The focus in their teaching is very much on the tool, i.e. the club. When we want to play tennis, we learn to use the racket; when we ski, we learn to use the skis. Mistakes are inevitable, but generally we do not see them as failure - we may miss the ball (tennis), or fall over (skiing), but we make adjustments as we go based on the experiences we have. We do this naturally, as human beings. We learn from doing and experiencing.

When we are babies, we learn to walk through falling over. If we fall over, are we failing? No. Are we struggling? Yes, of course we are, but is it not the struggle that helps us learn - through self discovery. As adults however, we react differently to the struggles we have. We are driven by success and told that our goal is to succeed, so much so, that we become afraid of getting it wrong, or put another way, we see it as failure, rather than exploration.

I went to the driving range tonight and all the baggage I was carrying with me on Monday dissipated and I felt so free just to swing the club and see what happened. There was no pressure to 'get it right' and I hit so many great shots with no real effort and came away with a real sense of freedom and achievement, even though I did make mistakes. It was liberating in so many ways and I hope that I can empower my students in the same way I feel empowered about my own game right now!

The amazing thing I am learning is that the lesson is not just applicable to golf, but to life in general. Let's not worry about making mistakes. Has Richard Branson ever made a mistake? Of course he has, but that has not detracted from his success; his mistakes have helped him discover the best way to do the things he does best. What is it you do best? What is it you are afraid of? What is it you want to succeed at? What's stopping you? Do not let your 'fear of failure' stop you....IT IS NOT FAILURE....ONLY MISTAKES....AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN! Start your journey of self discovery now.