Anjelika had a great first day in Amsterdam on her European Tour debut. She easily made the cut, despite being ill on Day 2. Coincidentally she and Miles Collins, another tour player, both find one of my comments helpful when playing golf.
‘I will play golf as if I’m already dead’
Others have found this helpful too. I’ve written more about the curious background to this comment in my book (above), and also mentioned it again in an article about racing driver Fernando Alonso that has just been published in the Best You magazine. Here is an extract.
Alonso is also the owner of an unusual tattoo on his back. It is an ancient samurai warrior, representing strength, intelligence, and the will to win. These qualities were described by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, in his spiritual guide for a warrior titled The Book of the Samurai. Its essence is the philosophy that a warrior should consider himself already dead. Those that achieve this state of mind describe it as a freedom from earthly worries, with the result that all their mental and physical energy can be directed at the task in hand.
Most coaches would not encourage their clients to develop their thoughts to this morbid extreme. However, most would agree that peak performance comes from the mental discipline of staying in the present. The events of the past and the future are of no concern, so encouraging a pure focus of concentration and enlightenment.
This viewpoint echoes one of the Zen foundations concerning the danger of over-attachment to people and possessions, leading inevitably to fear of their loss. The result of such earthly fears act as barriers to peak performance. In the sporting world athletes often describe their triumphs as arising from discovering the joy of letting go, having no fear of failure, keeping things simple, and abandoning ego.
Interesting? Do you think this could work for you? Please email me with your comments, and I’ll explain how you too can the results you deserve. doc@drstephensimpson.com
