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The Fairway Of Life
Simple Secrets To Playing Better Golf By Going With The Flow ~
Rand Scott Marquardt
Life & Mental Golf Performance Coach 
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FacebookThe Zone
The Zone is our natural state of being. The Zone is not a place we seek or try or hope to find or get in to, it is us who have taken ourselves out of The Zone. The Zone is like The Sun it is always shining. “Removing the clouds does not cause the sun to shine, but merely reveals what was hidden all along,” Dr. David R. Hawkins.
Therefore, your work, if you so chose to embark upon it, is to one-by-one remove all the obstacles and blocks and clouds that are preventing you from being in The Zone. There are literally hundreds of them with different names. The categories are Fear, Ego, Limited Beliefs, Negative Thoughts, and other foolish self-sabotaging behaviors.
To learn more or to be coached personally pick up a copy of my book, The Fairway of Life, or call me. Only a few will put in the necessary work it takes. Many will give it lip service, and most will do nothing at all. Remember what Einstein said about insanity….repeating the same things over and over again expecting different results. You’ve got to change your energy within to get different results. You got to change your beliefs, your thoughts, your mind-set that get deposited into the treasury of your subconscious mind. Basically, you’ve got to re-create yourself anew becoming the next grandest version of who you really are.
WooHoo – I’m on fire!
Using your imagination, visualizing your shot, being present, trusting and committing to your swing are all essential aspects to playing your best golf. But if I told you to relax more, not take the game so serious, and be okay with whatever happens – that this too leads to more fun, more outrageous joy, more WooHoo ‘I’m on fire’ kind of demeanor – and you’ll play better golf, would you believe me? When you let go and find relief and learn to go with the flow downstream versus struggling ever so mightily paddling against the current upstream – you will find The Zone and the freedom to more fully express yourself without getting in your own way. Learn to trust life and let life trust you.
Remember: “If you think you can, or if you think you can’t, you’re both right,” Henry Ford. Likewise, if you think what I am inviting you to experience works, or doesn’t work, you’re right. You can accept or reject anything. The mind is a very powerful tool that has been running your life like a computer on automatic pilot for many years now. This is your subconscious brain, which runs 95% of everything in your life, including your golf game. Want to change the way you play golf for the better? You’ve got to change your thoughts and deposit more and more beneficial beliefs into the treasury of your subconscious mind that will automatically allow you to play golf with your natural freedom of expression.
The answer and wisdom lies within you. Now, it is up to you and your own Divine Mind to let it happen. If you (your ego) “thinks” that you can figure it all out – good luck. I tried that approach for over 30 years learning to hate the game I love. Thinking and doing the same things over and over again from an ego’s perspective is not only insane (Albert Einstein), it keeps you in the same stuck pattern of mediocrity, self-pity, fear, limited beliefs, and negative juju. Acting as if it is so from a Divine Mind perspective allows you to have more fun, smile often, enjoy, and develop an attitude of gratitude for this marvelous game of golf.
The One Who Wins
“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”
–Henry Ford.
The one who wins is always the one who is clearest about his wanting and is most expectant of it. This is law without exception. She prevails because The Universe only knows whatever it is being asked, or desired deep from within – and this vibration within never lies. It is law. If you are scared you gravitate toward that. If you think you can’t, you won’t. If you doubt your abilities, if you are tentative you will reap whatever you are sowing. If you get angry, throw clubs, you take yourself further away from being in The Zone. If you don’t know what you desire, you end up getting that as well. Likewise, if you visualize and see your shot, and you just know you’re hitting a great shot (expect it), you’ll produce the swing and the result. That’s called eagerly anticipating, being on fire, or like Tom Watson likes to say, “licking my chops.” Why not experience more of the good stuff on the golf course? You can if you think you can.
The Universe only responds to our own vibrational energy within. Therefore, it pays to be clear, to set clear intentions, and certainly expect, believe, and know it shall be. Like Nick Faldo likes to say, “We gravitate toward the picture we are painting.” We become what we think. What script has been playing over and over in your mind, in your world, along the fairway of life? Change is an eternal process. You can get back in the game, or you can stay stuck in the mediocrity of your own self-imposed, limited belief comfort zone.
Solution: In order to break free from your own self-imposed comfort zone – and that’s where true growth begins – at the end of your comfort zone, one must choose change, one must choose to be uncomfortable, one must feed the subconscious mind with a new script, a new program that eventually squeezes out the old program that is no longer serving our best interest. You’ve got to deposit more and more of these “new” beneficial beliefs into the treasury of your subconscious mind, which runs 95% of your life. Your conscious mind a mere 5% or less. Will this new adventure be nothing but a bed of roses? Absolutely not! You will most likely venture into the juicy depths, coming face to face with all your demons. Most give up at the first sight of uneasiness when going within. It’s scary to go within. It is the most scary and the most liberating experience of all. So you can choose to play it safe or climb down the rabbit hole and take yourself to as far as you desire. Either way, it’s your call. What do you desire to be next?
Another simple, yet intriguing concept along the fairway of life is in understanding what exactly is going on here? First of all, life just is. Second of all, golf just is. There is only one thing really going on. You are playing a game of golf that man invented. You are hitting a little white ball down a fairway onto a green and putting a little white ball into a hole. That’s it. Nothing more. Now, you can certainly choose to enjoy your experience, to enjoy nature, to enjoy your camaraderie, to have fun and give thanks, to become better than you used to be – no better than anyone else, or not?
In the metaphysical world, the way life really is, as opposed to how you think it is, has no idea what competition is. Competition – truly is not. However, it is man who makes up the rules to the game, the prizes, trophies, medals, or money; man provides the platform to play the game, especially when it comes to tournament play. We put ourselves into a position where there is only one prize. Whereas, (in ultimate reality), there are plenty of prizes to go around. If there is any value in competition it is the stimulating of our own wanting and desires. There is incredible value through our role models in the golf arena; they inspire us to become better than we used to be – to rise up to our fuller potential, to push ourselves into becoming our own hearts desire(s). You are your own toughest opponent and that is whom you are always playing against and within.
So, let’s take a more succinct look at the statement: The one who wins is always the one who is clearest about his wanting and is most expectant of it.
The one is anyone and everyone.
Always means it is law, and it never fails.
Clearest is a mindset of understanding, a feeling of being.
Wanting is a hearts desire.
Expectant is a knowing, and a feeling that it shall be.
Here is another simple truth that may just spark a knowing, an understanding within you – that will allow you to get back on track in this manifesting game. Many human beings have simply given up on wanting because they have not received. The reason they have not received is because deep down underneath they have been given their attention to the lack of what they have wanted rather than to what they have wanted. When you give attention to the lack of what you don’t have – you get that too! The Universe responds equally to what you really, really want and what you really, really don’t want.
Examples of conflicting wanting / asking:
I want to have more money. I can’t stand being broke.
I want to play well; I don’t want to be scared.
I want to win this tournament, but I always seem to choke coming down the stretch.
I was playing so well, how come I end up choking?
I want to be a better golfer, but I’m not very good.
I’m a good range player, how come I can’t take it to the course?
I play well by myself, and I tense up around others.
I’m not a very good golfer.
There are literally thousands of scripts within your subconscious mind that is playing itself out time after time within the confines of your own brain. If you want to change, you’ve got to start writing a new script.
Mental Technique: Focus those last five minutes before bed on good feeling thoughts and what you do want. You marinate on what you are giving your attention, focus, visualization, and imagination upon. See your self as you desire to be. Socrates said, “Be as you wish to seem.”
Enjoy the process of co-creating your own reality.
Becoming a Champion
“The one who wins is always the one who wants it the most and is most expectant of it,” Abraham. And it’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not. One essential ingredient in becoming a champion is to set the intention to become one. Like dreams, if we just willy nilly dance around them without ever fully committing, then nothing truly magical ever happens. You’ve got to make the commitment and stay in the process. Because the moment you think this doesn’t work, it won’t. It takes courage to keep on. It takes courage to dream and begin taking action steps beyond your normal way of being. It takes courage to step outside your current comfort zone. It takes courage to get your self up to speed with whom you say you wish to be. Maybe the reason you are where you are is because you’re scared to even set the intention for fear of failure? Maybe you’re afraid of success? Perhaps you’re afraid of what might be asked of you? Perhaps you just not willing to put in the time or you think money is the obstacle. Your greatest obstacle in your process is fear and doubt, and those are the culprits that kill many a dream and keep many golfers at mediocrity. Whereas, champion’s rise to the occasion.
“Fear of any kind is the number-one enemy of all golfers, regardless of ball-striking and shot making capabilities.”
—Jack Nicklaus
“I refuse to give into fear, real or imagined, or to be afraid either consciously or unconsciously of anything or anyone. I smile at my obstacles.”
—Tiger Woods
You can choose to keep on or fold like an accordion, yet all great champions overcame adversity and conquered their demons within. Everyone throws up all over themselves several times on their journey to becoming. It’s how you wish to perceive these growing pains. Every champion attributes their success to the adversity they overcame. They looked fear straight in the eye. Fear is your number one obstacle that must be dealt with in order to make it to the other side. Rather than be afraid of your fears, run away from them, I invite you to be with your fears. The more you become aware of them, the more you really look at them, the more you able to be with your fears, the more they disappear. For what FEARS really are is Fantasy Experienced As Real. Turn your fantasy into an awareness that is so powerful that you will thrive beyond your wildest dreams. You are Gods greatest creation and you are meant to win.
I looked “fear” in the eye and said, you come to me with confusion and darkness and failure…but I come to you in the light and strength of my being. I am in alignment with myself and you cannot stand against me.
In order to become the champion within you, you must first have the courage to deal with you fears – it is the biggest obstacle that lies between where you are right now and where it is you say you wish to be. Dealing with your fears is an eternal process. The alternative is where you are right now. One of the best ways to support you in living the life of your dreams on the golf course is to keep on feeding yourself more and more beneficial beliefs that uplift and inspire the true champion within you. “The game of golf is played mainly on a five-inch course, in a space between your ears,” Bobby Jones.
* More later about feeding our subconscious mind in a series of Creating a Champion’s Self-Image CD recordings to listen to over and over again.
You see, in order to become and begin developing the champion within you, you have got to become a match to you. What do you want? What does it take to become a match to what I want? Where do I begin? You must first ask yourselves a series of questions and then answer them. The best place to begin is exactly where you are right now. Once you begin to fully commit and set the intention to become, notice and become fully aware of what comes up for you, because without the commitment, there is not another level of awareness. Without the commitment there is not another level of growth, which is often messy. If you keep thinking what you’ve always thought, you’re going to keep getting what you’ve always gotten. My intention here is to wake you up, so you can choose and decide; to break you free from the grasp of mediocrity. “Champions give their best effort all the time,” Mike Krzyzewski. In order to fight through the mediocrity, you must first fight through your own demons of adversity, because they come first. Once you announce and declare yourself to be something, the exact opposite enters your experience first. Many will quit when the going gets tough. What will you do? With ease and grace, with humility, I invite you to keep on.
How do you see the game of golf?
For the most part I saw the game of golf as something scary, something I wanted to play so well at, yet I was afraid much of the time. Oh sure, I had my moments when I felt that everything was clicking. Golf was fun and I was caught up in the moment. However, the next day would come around and it felt like I was starting over with all my same old fears. If only I could start where I left off from the day before? I saw the game of golf as a sport I loved to hate – unless I was playing well. Slowly I am changing my tune (my self-image) to appreciate golf developing an attitude of gratitude. I am becoming more of the champion that lies within me! Do I still have nervous energy creep up before a round, and sometimes in the heat of the battle – you betcha. I’m just better prepared to handle such a monster. I am becoming my own coach, or an objective detective in my own process better equipped mentally to handle the task at hand. How do you see the game of golf?
Do you see the game of golf as a harsh, cruel, and frustrating sport? Or do you see it as an outrageously fun and enjoyable experience? Is it a grind and a struggle, or is it a pleasant stroll in the park? Do you remain open or are afraid to express your inner talents? Are you going with the flow or paddling against it? You see, how you perceive the game of golf will become an exact match every time to your experience. Whatever and wherever you give your focus, you will experience.
There’s no better feeling in the world on the golf course when everything just “clicks.” It’s a feeling of just knowing where the stream of Well-Being abounds. It’s as if God is flowing to and through us. We’ve transcended the self-imposed limit we have set. Champion’s expect to play well, and they do. Champion’s find them selves playing golf more often in The Zone. Sometimes we find ourselves in this Zone experience because we just temporarily forget about our fears. Almost out of nowhere it just happens for a spell. Yet, what if I told you that you could find yourself in this state of being more often? What would you say? Probably you’d say something along the lines of a BIG YES, of course, I would love to play golf more often in The Zone! Believe it and you will see it. Yet most have their doubts and will end up finishing their thought or conversation with a “yeah but.” Yeah but, I’ve got to swing a certain way. Yeah but, I don’t have enough time. Yeah but, my swing sucks…yeah but, yeah but, yeah but. Before your dream even begins to take root The Realist in us often compromises it, or squashes it. I guarantee you if you end your thoughts with a “yeah but;” then that will be what you’ll get. If The Realist takes over, you also get that. If you don’t believe any of this, you won’t. Most will say show me and I will believe it. What if I said the magic formula is believe it and you will see it?
Do you know why some golfers succeed consistently, and others don’t? Well, I do, and it’s all in how they perceive their world and what they allow to filter into the depths of their personal self-image, which is lodged deeply within their subconscious mind, which runs everything in their life, including their golf game. It’s called mental toughness in the golf world. Fortunately for some, like a Tiger Woods or Trevor Immelman, they have been trained from a young age with conscious parenting to become champions. For most of us, we must change our current programming; otherwise we remain stuck and acclimated to our miserable patterns of negative, fearful, and other foolish self-sabotaging behaviors and their mediocre results. To become a champion, you must act and play like one. You must believe in yourself. Arnold Palmer is doing his best in passing this kind of mental understanding onto his grandson, Sam Saunders. And he knows it’s up to Sam to grasp it.
Now on the other hand if everything is just clicking along and you’ve mastered the mental game of golf…then by all means keep on. Congratulations you’re one of a kind. But, if not, then we’ve got to start telling ourselves a new story, one that supports our new vision in being our best. The first place to begin is to start talking, acting, and playing like a champion. Acting as if it is already so. These new beneficial beliefs begin taking root into the treasury of our subconscious minds. At first it may seem like there are two of us playing this game, one who wants to have a new, more empowering self-image, and another who regresses back to our old fearful patterns of behavior. Be patient through this process of becoming and the relief of better feeling thoughts will be drawn unto you. The power and wisdom lies within you.
Therefore, let your new dominant intent to feel joy while you are playing this wonderful game and the freedom to express yourself, to grow in the process, and have more fun will come quickly and easily into alignment. See your golf as one of an enjoyable experience – even if you are well over par in the beginning of your round. Just keep asking for the alignment with the stream of Well-Being. You are God’s greatest creation and you are a creator of your own joyful golf experience. This is your mission. This is your quest. This is what you have been asking for – the freedom to fully express yourself feeling outrageous joy along the fairway of life. “Be as you wish to seem,” Socrates. Act as if it is already so.
Enjoy The Masters! Notice how Champion’s carry themselves.
What am I so afraid of?
“Fear of any kind is the number-one enemy of all golfers, regardless of ball-striking and shot making capabilities.”—Jack Nicklaus
I ask you, what are you so afraid of while playing or thinking about this game of golf? Answers will inevitable vary with each individual. And that’s why coaching another in the “mental and emotional aspects” of the game is unique to each golfer, and not a one-size-fits-all approach. However, many of us have had and continue to have similar experiences and tendencies. I’d like to share a few of them with you now. I’d also like to invite you to journal about your own experiences to uncover the block(s) that have been holding you back from expressing yourself freely to play your best golf. And remember go easy on yourself because this game of golf and life is an eternal process and we will never get it all done – it will never be “perfect.” Yet what if it is perfect just the way it is? I like to call it “perfectly imperfect.” Because if you gravitate toward the feeling that you’re never satisfied, then you’ll be never satisfied and this state of emotional being will come more in the form of frustration with perhaps some glimmer of hopefulness.
I’d also like to suggest some different techniques that may cause you to let go of some of your FEARS or False Evidence Appearing Real. These fears are nothing more than your own fantasy appearing real. In my book, The Fairway of Life, I suggest using the Mental Edge Golf Technique as another method to overcoming this perceived fear. It’s a simple form of acknowledgment, acceptance, forgiveness, and creating new more empowering beliefs and focus. In case you haven’t already; pick up a copy – I guarantee if you put even one of the many coaching suggestions or simple secret reminders into place it will benefit you and it will benefit the game of golf by the clarity of your example. Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm – it’s contagious! Pass it on and pay it forward.
Remember: fear is an illusion in our mind and it is the opposite of who you really are, yet at times it appears as being so real. Therefore, our objective becomes clearing this mental stress, these obstacles that have been holding us back, which eventually leaves only pure positive energy, known to golfers as The Zone. This form of emotional state operates in, and even transcends the joy, knowing, and freedom realm. This is when and where we play our best golf.
Therefore, I invite you to look fear in the eye and simply be with it for a moment. What you look at disappears. I invite you to use affirmations as well. I looked “fear” in the eye and said, you come to me with confusion and darkness and failure…but I come to you in the light and strength of my being. I am in alignment with myself and you cannot stand against me.
“It is only when we have the courage to face things exactly as they are, without any self-deception or illusion, that a light will develop out of events, by which the path to success may be recognized.”
I Ching: Hexagram 5, Hsu – Waiting (Nourishment)
Facing things exactly as they are is the key to becoming better than you used to be. If you are unwilling to accept yourself just exactly as you are right now you will continue to stay stuck living the life of quiet desperation and you will keep getting and repeating the same old mediocre results year after year. You keep thinking you can figure this all out. I know that was me for 35 years of my golfing life.
If you desire change to a more free golf game it begins with accepting yourself and your golf game just exactly as you are and it is – all the while pointing into the direction that you prefer. What you prefer is your asking and it works with the power of intention. What happens next is providence or divine inspiration will begin moving through you and the how’s begin showing up in forms you may never have imagined before. The formula is dreams, or intentions of what you prefer + action = the how’s + manifestation.
Dreams + Action = How’s + Manifestation
In other words you don’t have to be ready and know how – the how’s will be shown to you once you make the 100% commitment and decide to play full out. You have been and are doing the very best you can with the tools and resources that you have available at this particular moment in time. Now you have been giving more. Why – because you are asking and drawn to hear these words. I invite you to simply become aware.
1. First, we must we acknowledge the areas that have been holding us back. We must come clean with ourselves and take note to the things that have been holding us back, our weaknesses, our fears, or things we can improve upon.
2. We need to accept ourselves, and our golf game, exactly as we are and exactly as it is right now, even though we might not like it.
3. We point in the direction of what we prefer. In that moment we make peace with ourselves.
4. If we choose, out of these enlightening understandings will come the clarity and wisdom that will allow us to evolve and grow and expand into more of who we really are; as a golfer and as a human being. It is as simple and as complex as that.
Case Study: what is it that you are so afraid of?
“My shadow and hitting the ball in the shits. It’s a tough shot with danger all around and I don’t want to f**k up. I’ve got a good score going and I don’t want to throw it all away. It takes a lot of work. (Pause) Wait a second what am I getting all jacked up about? I say work, but golf is a fun game. So what if I put the ball in the pond shooting a 39 instead of a 37…so what? I also want to eliminate the bad round or bad nine. I shot 38-52 at Charlevoix Country Club and I need to eliminate the bad round or bad nine.” The following dialogue is what Chris Shepler said when I asked him this question at 10:30 am on Tuesday, January 13, 2010. This is real life stuff for most golfers.
How many issues or blocks from playing his best golf can you name here?
1) I am scared of my own self.
2) I am scared of hitting the ball where I don’t want it to go. A lot of what I don’t want going on here.
3) I am scared to f**k up.
4) I am scared to screw up my score. Too much result-oriented.
5) I am scared to blow it. I want to be more consistent.
6) I feel like I am in a fight.
7) I finally found some relief with acknowledging it’s a fun game. I finally found some relief with thinking so what.
Underneath some of these issues lies the real culprit, hidden and stuffed away deep inside. We have people-pleasing and personal-perfectionism issues. On one hand we want to impress others in showing them what we are capable of. We want to play well for others and show them what we are capable of. On the other hand we want to hit “perfect” or good golf shots and when we don’t we get frustrated. In either case our emotions slide to the lower half of our emotional scale. If left unchecked the downward spiral sets in. Frustration, irritation, and impatience can lead to disappointment, doubt, worry, anger, rage, and even drop so low to feelings of unworthiness and despair. I ask you, can you play your best golf when you are experiencing these kinds of emotions? Of course not!
Here is my simple solution: the moment you begin dropping into negative emotions, below the contentment level, catch yourself and accept and embrace everything exactly as it is. You may not like what just happened, yet you must accept it. Work it out later on the range. Just know that Well-Being will come to you as you are pointing into the direction of what you prefer. You will save more rounds of golf than you can possible imagine. I can’t tell you how many times I have been 5 over par after 3 holes and still posted 77 or 78. Whereas before, lights out I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore – for sure 85 or worse.
Here are a couple other things with Chris that I observe: 1) Scared of hitting the ball in the shits, or where I don’t want it to go. Mastering the mental game invites you to begin shifting your focus upon what you do want, eventually giving yourself more and more of that. Once again the trick is to get out of the mindset of not thinking about what you don’t want and more in harmony with what you do. Not thinking about, or not wanting something only draws more of that into your experience. You’ve got to train your mind to focus on what you do want. You’ll find yourself slowly gravitating toward the target in your minds-eye. Rather focus in on what you do want. Remember: the shot produces the swing, not the other way around. Give more airtime to positive beliefs and eventually the old negative thoughts begin fading away. The only way to get rid of negative thoughts is to give more airtime to positive ones. The process:
1) Visualize
2) Visualize
3) Visualize
2) Too much result-oriented and in the future thinking going on. I remind another, just as I remind Chris, that it’s just one shot at a time. Bring yourself to being present, in the now, with this shot right here, right now. Bobby Jones knew this and he was right, yet “It is nothing new or original to say that golf is played one stroke at a time. But it took me many years to realize it.” Everyone needs a reminder, myself included. Now if you want to keep venting and spiraling further out of control, then go ahead and be my guest. Or, you can catch yourself and get back to playing present golf, having fun, pointing in the direction of what you prefer, and allowing it to be. It’s okay – stop beating up on yourself. Lighten up – maybe you can use some extra work out of the bunker? Ya see! Here’s a simple three-step process to let go of too much result-oriented, worrying about where the ball is going, and being in the future process. Focus only on:
1) Good set up
2) Good alignment
3) Good swing
See your trusted PGA golf professional to get you back on the train tracks and the plane of your swing in harmony with your natural way.
Finally, relief comes when we realize that golf is a fun game. Too much seriousness around golf creates too much tension and stress. Look, I’m out here with my friends. It’s a beautiful day. I’m off work (ah Professionals treat it as fun and leisure), and no matter what, I am going to have fun.
Above all, no matter what happens simply acknowledge it, accept it, embrace it, and become an objective detective in your own process. Some days will be better than others. So what? Be like Walter Hagen and simply shrug your shoulders when things don’t necessarily go your way. Eventually if you practice these principles things will improve and the better it gets, the better it gets. It may even seem like a miracle at the end of the round or season. You may just amaze your incredible self. You have so much potential in you; I’m here to draw that out of you.
Be as you wish to seem and act as if it is so,
Rand
Coaching Andrew Ruthkoski
Andrew is both hungry and humble and now wants to play on the PGA Tour more than ever. I invite him to keep dreaming his dream and visualizing upon the kind of golfer he desires to be. Be as you wish to seem. Act as if it is so. Paint the picture and gravitate towards that. Walk, talk, play, and carry yourself like the champion that you are…all the while lightening up and having fun along the fairway of life. Not to take anything too serious here either. Isn’t being spiritual a weird thing? I know Andrew belongs, now it’s just a matter for him to realize that, similar to Baggar Vance. What will Andrew chose to be next? What will Andrew chose to do next?
Andrew and I texted back and forth on the phone and spoke at length from his disappointing return from Q-School last night while returning from South Carolina. 71-70-69-69 is nothing to be ashamed about. This time he missed by two shots. He has made it to stage II before. For the most part from tee to green his game is pretty darn good. It’s his putting that got the best of him on this particular trip and occasionally he gets ahead of himself out of the present moment thinking he must birdie future holes he hasn’t played yet. I also invite Andrew to think of a lie as just a lie, no judgments, simply an observation. Then commit to the shot.
At Q-School his putting let him down and a few other minor lapses. Like all of us, Andrew occasionally sends mixed messages to himself prior to executing his shots. I call this “vibrational energy” we are feeling. On certain shots he may think where he doesn’t want the ball to go, he sometimes gets in the mindset of having to guide it, and then when it comes to putting and certain shots he, “Wants to lose the junk and mixed messages, a feeling that I want to get rid of.” He said he has played and putted extremely well for the last three months, “now I couldn’t read the grain.” He got into a funk on the green unless he stiffed his shots. Notice when he said he couldn’t…that’s the energy we get back in return, usually in the form of a missed putt. Jack Nicklaus never made a putt that he first didn’t already make in his mind, in how he was visualizing it. There’s a feeling of allowing it v ersus resisting it.
I explain to Andrew that this vibrational energy is about aligning to the Well-Being and allowing that in. It’s about creating more and more beneficial beliefs and not trying to get rid of anything. That’s how we change. With golf shots or anything else we are either allowing the Well-Being in, going with the flow, or we are resisting, kinking up the flow. Resistance comes in many forms. In golf we call them demons: fear, negative thoughts, mixed messages, a limited belief about ourselves, and other foolish self-sabotaging behaviors like; anger; frustration, trying to impress others; or wanting something so badly we end up pushing it further away.
This Well-Being is what golfers call being in The Zone, pure positive energy flowing to and through us in the present moment. We are either allowing this in, or we are resisting it. To be more mentally tough is creating a champions or winner’s self-image by depositing more and more beneficial beliefs into the treasury of our sub-conscious mind. I also provide more insights about these and other enlightening golf mindsets in my new book, The Fairway of Life: Simple Secrets To Playing Better Golf By Going With The Flow. Remember the shot produces the swing, not the other way around.
Andrew knows he has two choices, and one of them doesn’t count. He can either evolve forward becoming better tomorrow than he is today…through his new awareness, or he can quit? Champion’s all overcame adversity by keeping on! Andrew’s asking to become better…and The Universe is answering. You must ASK! Now it is up to Andrew to allow it in. As we send our positive vibes to Andrew they return back to us.
Keep on keeping on!
Be as you wish to seem,
“Coach” Marquardt
Life & Mental Golf Performance Coach
Sport & Athletic Administration, MA
Inspiring Excellence Within!
* The one who wins is always the one who is clearest about his wanting and is most expectant of it. Expectation lies in our vibrational energy and it never lies. It is law. It’s a belief and a feeling of confidence in ourselves, or not? I invite you to post your comments at: http://golfissupposedtobefun.com
Appreciate & Go With The Flow ~
Going with the flow along the fairway of life means giving up control of trying so hard to figure it out, which usually brings frustration. (Believe me – I have tried to do it this way for 36 years of my golfing life). It means you’ve got to get out of your own way and allow the Well-Being in. It means you’ve got to get out of your head and into your heart space. Stop trying so hard to figure it out and surrender to the pure positive energy that is always flowing through you.
This pure positive energy is what golfers and athletes have come to call The Zone. In order to experience this comes the wisdom that you are not doing it. It is being done through you. You just have to let it be done and allow it to be. Let it be easy is the mantra. This is the simple secret that you have been asking for – and you already know it. I am just reminding you to the understanding of how life really works. The best and quickest way to get into this state of being in The Zone is by being in a state of complete and utter appreciation.
What all athletes and golfers really want is the freedom and understanding to fully express them selves. What all athletes and golfers really want is to play to their full potential - being resistant free or in a state of allowing. I am here to remind you that life is an eternal process and we will never get it all done. The spice of life is living joyfully in this gap between where you are now and where you desire to be next.
I am here to remind you that surrendering to this God or Life Force takes courage – perhaps the most courageous thing you will ever do is surrender. I believe that God wants you to know that nothing will be asked of you, lest what you are asking of yourself. Surrendering can seem like the most scary and most liberating experience of all – practically in the same breath.
So, stop trying so hard to figure it and find relief by dropping the oars. Stop trying so hard to figure out your golf game and golf swing. Instead of paddling really, really hard against the current upstream…learn to go with the flow paddling downstream where all the good stuff lies.
What to improve and get better? Set the intention and take action – the how’s will be shown along the fairway of life as soon as you make the commitment. Most are afraid to set an intention and therefore keep getting more of the same. For a more detailed description of this power that lies within pick up a copy of my new book, The Fairway of Life: Simple Secrets To Playing Better Golf By Going With The Flow ~. I eagerly look forward to your feedback.
The Secret is The Law of Attraction…
…And it works every time with everything, including our golf game. So…don’t settle for mediocrity, and don’t settle for less anymore.
First, you must ask for what you clearly want – set an intention, visualize your goal, have a dream… Clearly state your end result, whether it is to break 100, be a 7-handicap golfer by the end of summer, or as in the case of Andrew Ruthkoski from Muskegon, Michigan play on the PGA Tour and be top 10 in the world. Like Nick Faldo keeps repeating, we gravitate toward the picture we are painting. Act as if it is so. If you just pretend on a daily basis, no matter how far-fetched, or scary, or silly it may seem that “it” is yours for the taken. Stars will realign and Providence will move through you – you will be shown how, but not until you fully commit. Visualize your end result…stop…take a snapshot picture of what that looks like, notice where you are now…and then make the necessary changes one at a time.
Step two, the second you commit God / The Universe answers – what you really, really want you get. Likewise, what you really, really don’t want you get. Apply this principle to everything, including what you’re thinking with every shot. Yes, we always get what we ask for – even lack or where we don’t want to go. Wanting something and not having it is a lack mentality. “Ask wisely, with love, for everything you want,” Mark Victor Hansen. Simply let it be and give thanks.
Whenever negative thoughts come up begin shifting your attention and thinking to more and more beneficial thoughts and beliefs – gradually you will drown out the negative ones and one day you’ll wake up a new you, letting go of old foolish self-sabotaging behaviors…wondering how it used to be with a smile on your face appreciating becoming your new desire. There is a process in creating a champion’s self-image, which runs everything in our life, including our golf game.
The third step in this process is that you align with this Well-Being, this pure positive energy and allow it in. This is what golfers call being in The Zone…and you can be there more often than ever before. Just take the next logical step. It’s dream plus action, which equals how plus manifestation. The how’s will be clearly shown once you fully commit. Pretty soon…you’re living the life of your dreams. Be patient and embrace the process – growth can be, and usually is messy. Most will want to quit, run away, or crawl back into their shell – or worse blame others and come up with all kinds of excuses. Take responsibility for being the creator of your life and you will be well on your way. You are God’s greatest creation, and you are meant to win!
I emphasis all of this again and again – because most will fail to set such a lofty goal for several negative based reasons, and many will die with the music still in them. Many have “wishful thinking” thoughts waiting to be ready. Summers pass and years go by. The time is now…and you will not have to think but for one second why you received this message today. Most will think they are undeserving or unworthy. Few will trust in the power of intentions and live the life of their dreams.
Remember challenges, adversity, and obstacles are what builds and strengthens our internal fortitude. We are both challenged in this life and blessed with amazing gifts.
For a deeper understanding of these amazing life principles be sure to pick up a copy of my new book, The Fairway of Life: Simple Secrets To Playing Better Golf By Going With The Flow ~.
Namaste,
Rand Marquardt
Life & Mental Golf Performance Coach
Inspiring Excellence Within!
P.S. Remember: Life & Golf are supposed to be fun
Focus Upon What You Prefer
Most people fall into the trap of telling it like it is or thinking it’s just the way it is. Most people will say give me what I want then I’ll be happy. I’m inviting you to be happy and you will do and have what you have wanted all along. Most people keep thinking the same ole thoughts and keep getting the same ole results. If you think what you have always thought you will get what you have always gotten. Most people live within this ‘bubble” of limited belief thinking. Most people want to tell the truth because that’s what they see. They think telling it like it is has something to do with their reality. Most people want to see it first to believe it. They say if you show me what I want, then I’ll believe it. I’m inviting you to shift your thinking to believe it and you will see it. I’m inviting you to shift your thinking upon being the powerful creator that you really are…that life really is happening through you – not to you.
What most people suffer from the insidious disease of limited beliefs, negative thinking, and other foolish self-sabotaging behaviors on the golf course and in all aspects of life. I’ve experienced all of them. After 36 years of living within this subconscious ingrained self-image of negativity, limited beliefs, and certainly plenty of foolish self-sabotaging behaviors, I’ve decided to do something about it. I’ve decided to apply The Secret or The Law of Attraction or what I call the universal life and spiritual principles to the game of golf and to the game of life…and I want you to know that it works. I’m inviting you to trust in the process and let it be. I’m inviting you to get back into the game as it really is designed to be by following your bliss.
I’m inviting you to focus upon what you prefer, focus upon what you want, focus upon the solution, focus upon your dreams and desires…set a powerful intention upon what you want and you’ll gravitate toward the new and exciting picture you are painting. And if your dreams don’t scare you, then they’re not big enough!
I’m inviting you to shift your thinking upon what feels good as you dream, as you set the intention, as you hold the vision of what you want. Are you living your dream and filled with joy along The Fairway of Life? If not, then shift your thinking and align with the Well-Being…simple allow it in. Ultimate success is absolutely the amount of joy that you feel.
· Getting angry – shift your attention to gratitude and it’s a beautiful day
· Frustrated – shift your attention to allowing the Well-Being in
· Fearful – shift your attention by acknowledging it then back to the present
· Thinking you can’t – shift your attention to visualizing upon what you want
In life as in golf, we are either allowing the Well-Being in or we are resisting it. Our work becomes removing the obstacles that lie in the way. “Removing the clouds does not cause the sun to shine, it merely reveals what was hidden all along,” Dr. David R. Hawkins. There is no way to The Zone…The Zone is the way. The Zone is our natural way to be…it is always flowing to and through us.
“Why am I such a chicken,” Dinara Safina
The 2009 Women’s French Open Final
Tennis and golf are similar sports when it comes to the mind, mental toughness, handling pressure and stress…anxiety, fears, being in the now versus getting ahead of ourselves.
First, congratulations to #7 Swetlana Kuznetsova defeating Dinara Safina #1 in The French Open final 6-4, 6-2.
I enjoy watching those pursuing excellence in their sport of choice. I enjoy observing how athletes handle themselves in being their best. We can learn from the triumphs and the disasters, and treating those two imposters just the same, as Bobby Jones finally began to understand after years of coming in second.
As a life & mental golf performance coach I can certainly relate to the play from both of these tennis giants. I can feel their emotions and thoughts. Swetlana came out on top today…she was the one who was more calm and relaxed. Her thoughts were to go out there and, “have fun and enjoy it.” The pressure fell too deeply on the one who wanted it so badly she ended up pushing it further away. You could see it slipping as she missed shots and started pressing. Finally, she let it out in front of the whole world to see and hear, “Why am I such a chicken,” almost gesturing to her coach as she expressed her truth to herself. Why am I such a chicken is a great question to ask ourselves.
NBC TV announcers and analysts Mary Carillo and John McEnroe stated many keen observations about this match. It is my mission to pass these observations on to you in hopes that you and I will take our own game to new levels of mental toughness overcoming the fears, the chicken, or demons that lie within us.
Carillo and McEnroe picked up upon this energy as they witnessed the negative emotions, tenseness, and mental roadblocks get the best of the world’s #1. Carillo noted that Safina allows her nakedness to come through, often expressing her emotions when she breaks down, often crying. It’s my feeling that Safina wants it so badly that she pushes it further away. She prepares herself for this moment…yet the moment got the best of her. She gets ahead of herself and out of the now, and it is in the now where The Zone resides. “Just get out of your own way,” Carillo stated. “Easier said than done Mary, it’s a whole lot cozier up here,” McEnroe noted. “Just stay in the moment here…classic one shot at a time and this match would be far from over,” McEnroe continued as we all felt the pressure on Safina’s shoulders. As the breakdown continued there is a tendency to spiral further out of control, McEnroe reiterated, “You can see how the nerves are wreaking havoc on Safina.” The double fault to end the match ended the nightmare.
Now it’s a question of what can Safina do to keep her faith and belief in herself, so that the nightmare goes away? The answer: you’ve got to keep activating more and more beneficial beliefs and allow them to take root into your self-image, which is lodged within your subconscious brain, which runs everything in your life, including your tennis and golf game. Eventually you give more “air time” to beneficial beliefs and you literally drown out less beneficial ones – you become a new you.
So how do we create a winner’s self-image? Is it a perception that in order to win we then can believe in ourselves, that we are losers unless we win? Or, do we believe in ourselves, be happy, enjoy the moment and let winning take care of it self? How does one win? What is the secret or magic formula? What is the answer to all of this madness? How does one overcome “throwing up” all over oneself on the golf course – similar to what Safina just experienced in The 2009 French Open Final? What can we learn from all of this? What can we do to build that champions self-image?
Sit with these questions and answer them on your own. What do you think? Yes, we must experience this ourselves if we so choose to put ourselves on the line. My answer: it’s about creating a winner’s or champions self-image of ourselves. I show and tell you how to do this in Chapter 15 of my book The Fairway of Life. How much time you invest in yourself is a direct match to what you will reap. For now, seek to find good feeling thoughts no matter what. Stay in the now, and remember golf, like life and tennis, are supposed to be fun!
Dinara Safina is a great champion…and if she doesn’t know it…then that’s the problem! The same goes for all of us. Feed your mind, heart, and soul the nutrition that empowers you – the gift of believing in yourself, and loving yourself just exactly as you are…all the while gravitating toward the picture you are painting of what you prefer. Act as if it is so. “Be as you wish to seem,” Socrates
“I refuse to give into fear, real or imagined, or to be afraid either consciously or unconsciously of anything or anyone.”
“I smile at my obstacles.”
—Tiger Woods
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