When I first started studying Psychology and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), I wanted to change the world. Then I realised it was my world that needed changing! Now I realise that nothing needs changing, only how we relate to it. Problems are only problems when we see them that way. One such “problem” is FEAR.

Fear is a “problem” that I experience from time to time. Being afraid of not being able to get to where I want to go, sometimes in golf, sometimes in life – effectively fearing failure. But is fearing failure actually a problem? The greatest leaders and golfers the world has known have not been fearless superhumans. They have been normal people with normal feelings who chose to let those feelings help them, not hinder them.

So how do we get afraid or anxious?

Well, to be good at fearing failure we need to jump outside of NOW and become very creative time travellers. We put ourselves into this arousing state by going out into the future, inventing something bad happening, feeling bad about it in the future, then bringing those threatening feelings back into now! Quite a task, so well done if you’ve succeeded to do this in the past (look there’s a bit more time travelling!).

How can it hinder us?

Symptoms of fear include increased heart rate and blood pressure, tightening of muscles, blinkered thinking, loss of confidence and focus. In fact, on the face of it, fear is about the worst state you can be in when playing golf!

How can fear help us?

I see every thing in this world as being useful. Despite all its downsides, fear holds one crucial purpose for us – WARNING. It basically says, “Don’t do that, it won’t end well!” When you’re standing over your shot worrying about hitting the ball into the trees, the fear is warning you to stop what you’re doing, back away from the shot, and focus on where you DO want the ball to go instead. This way you will replace fear with confident focus.

Fear is simply a reminder to focus on what you want.

People who say they never experience fear puzzle me. What they’re really saying is that they never really go for something so new, challenging or so important that there are no consequences if they fail. If you feel fear when playing golf, it’s merely because you’re going for shots that are challenging and important. You’re striving to better your game.

Fear itself is not a problem. Fear simply marks the boundary of what you believe to be your ability in that moment. Within the boundary is safe, outside the boundary is unknown. Avoiding fear is a problem, as you will stay so safe you won’t expand your boundaries – so your game stagnates. Not listening to fear is also a problem – worrying about the trees and hitting it anyway will usually result in woody pinball! Listening to the warning that fear gives us, helps us find and stretch the boundaries of our beliefs and skills. It helps us focus on what we DO want, pick shots that we CAN play, helping us develop our games to be more and more congruent.

So it’s time to stop thinking that fear is the bad guy - it’s not. Like all emotions, it has a positive purpose for you, if you’re bold enough to stop what you’re doing and listen to it. If there are negative thoughts there, let them be “thunk” to take all of the charge out of them. If you watch top flight golf, you’ll often see the best players backing off shots, only committing when they’ve listened to and addressed their fears. So welcome your fears – only people developing their game get them! Thank your fears for being there, learn from them, focus on what you DO want, then commit 100%.

I hope my mental golf tips help you learn more about your emotions so you can make use of all them. I’m happy to answer your questions about dealing with emotions to help you develop your own golf psychology. Also, I’m giving away audio mental golf tips through a series of six free tipcasts to help you through the toughest parts of the game. Sign up for my newsletter now if you would like to receive these.

Love every shot!

Adam Sprackling

Mental Golf Coach