While looking for some cartoons on my hard drive about ‘Fear’ I came across one I did for a book titled Face The Music and Win which I illustrated for Tracy Plaice. I’d forgotten about this project (It’s an age thing – so they keep telling me, but I’m not listening!)
Here’s an extract and cartoon from the first chapter…
My favourite time to play was when I had the house completely to myself as that was the only time that I felt completely at ease and didn’t make any mistakes. The piano was like my best friend; I shared with it all my emotions and in return it taught me that I could achieve things that seemed impossible at first glance. I still recall how difficult it was to play with both hands together, but with them doing completely different things.
Playing for other people, especially at piano exams was a real drama. I even found it a bit of a challenge in front of my piano teacher. At home I could play perfectly when no one could hear me, but in front of anyone else, especially an examiner, I would invariably make a mess, freeze, or lose my place in the music – all three sometimes. It didn’t get any easier, no matter how hard I tried.
There were times at home when I would practise on the piano and Dad would sit, pretending to read the newspaper. I knew he was really listening to me play. He knew that was the only thing he could do if he wanted any chance of hearing me play. It’s not that I was being selfish by not wanting to perform for people, I just couldn’t do it.
I wasn’t a shy child in other areas of my life. In fact I would quite often find myself in trouble for opening my mouth before my mind had considered the consequences, especially around my teachers and my father. I was made to sit alone at school on several occasions because I wanted to talk rather than read books.
I think the reason why I was so fearful when it came to playing the piano for others, was because it was so important to me. I would practise every day after school. I had really high expectations, both of myself and of what I thought other people would expect of me, given all the practice that I did. Also, and perhaps more importantly, I didn’t really appreciate that I was any good at it. I would always compare myself unfavourably to Mrs Hind’s other pupil, Alan.
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Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live. Dorothy Thompson
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt
“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”Sven Goran Eriksson
I’ve just started learning to play golf and the first time on the first tee caused a few nerves. So when I got back home I did a search on Google – one thing lead to another and I ended up at
If you’ve golfed competitively you’ve no doubt felt nerves affect your game. When I say competitively I don’t just mean competing on a professional or mini-tour. If you have a $5 bet with a colleague or friend it’s still competitive! Whether you’re a 27 handicap or scratch you are likely to feel at least some nerves during your round.
The Nervous Golfer cartoon
For many people it doesn’t even have to involve competiton at all. Just stepping to the first tee can cause a serious case of nerves. Maybe it’s when you must make a put to tie a hole or to win on the 18th green. If you’re standing on the 17th hole in a match and you’re 1 down then you have to deliver. Period. If you can’t channel your nerves you had better hope that swing you’ve been grooving for the past 6 months holds up now!
Regardless of skill level and/or on course scenario there will be times when you’ll require some way to calm your nerves so they don’t adversely affect your stroke/swing.
Have you made any conscious attempts to reduce your experience of nerves in your game? What did you try? What have been your results? Did they work and if so was it immediate? Or did you, like most every golfer alive, simply fill your head full of self talk saying things like, “ok, calm down. Just breathe…there’s nothing to be nervous about…hey, maybe he’ll miss his putt….yeah…miss-miss-miss!…”
Does this sound familiar?! Have you noticed that this doesn’t really do all that much to reduce your nervousness? Unless of course your playing partner does miss the putt!
Seriously though, you must have a means of noticing the onset of nerves and a method for not only calming them but using them to your advantage. How does that sound?
While I can’t go into detail on how to transform nerves into actually playing your best golf under pressure I will provide a few excellent methods you can use right away. They will improve your performance.
Breath is a very powerful state enhancer. What I mean is that your breathing provides deep physiological links to your internal states. So when you’re nervous the last thing you want to do is take short, shallow breaths. Quick breaths actually instruct the brain to respond in a “fight or flight” manner. The brain is hardwired to respond to fast breathing by being on the lookout for an emergency. Not the most effective place from which to make a smooth putting stroke on that 10 footer for par now is it?!
Tip #1
1) While waiting for your turn to hit stand aside and follow this breathing pattern:
Inhale – 4 counts
Hold – 5 counts
Exhale – 6 counts
Deep Breathing to calm your nerves!
Long, deep, slow breaths. This process interupts the breath influenced aspect of your state and directly instructs the brain to become still. Another adverse affect of nerves is a noticeable loss of feel in your hands. Sometimes you may even wonder if you’re even holding the club!
Tip #2
2) Simply hold a golf ball in your hands. Now squeeze it gently and hold for a few seconds. Then release. Then squeeze once again but this time do so very firmly and hold for a couple seconds then release. Roll the ball around in your hand and make a note of how the dimples feel.
Repeat this sequence 2 or 3 times and you will immediately increase the feel in your hands. Nervousness and shallow breathing directs extra blood to the brain, diverting it from your extremities. By doing applying this simple technique blood will flow back into your hands and improve your feel.
These 2 exercises work quickly. Self talk alone can’t compete with the psycho-physiological intensity of nervousness.
What if there was a way to transform nervousness into a calm, inner confidence? To actually have the onset of nerves “trigger” an inner calm. How powerful would that be in improving your performance? I can show you how to achieve this.
Wade Pearse is a Peak Performance Coach who spent 7 years applying the most advanced mental game strategies in golf with his clients and in his own game with phenomenal results. Visit his website. It’s 100% focused on developing the inner game of golf.
Wade Pearse may be contacted at http://www.golf-mental-game-coach.com
Wade Pearse is a Mental Game Golf Coach who teaches the most advanced mental game strategies in golf. Visit his website today. It is 100% focused on developing your inner game.
“What is opportunity, and when does it knock? It never knocks. You can wait a whole lifetime, listening, hoping, and you will hear no knocking.
None at all. You are opportunity, and you must knock on the door leading to your destiny. You prepare yourself to recognize opportunity, to pursue and seize opportunity as you develop the strength of your personality, and build a self-image with which you are able to live / with your self-respect alive and growing.” – Maxwell Maltz quotes (US plastic surgeon, motivational author, and creator of the Psycho-Cybernetics, 1927-2003)
Today’s reminded me of an A-Z of cartoon motivators that I started a few years ago and got to about ‘h’ …I think.
Action is perhaps the most important key to getting more out of life. Dreams are important, but you can’t spend your entire life “dreaming” about how good things will be when….. (you can fill in your own blanks).
Ask – what can I do today? Then do it. And yes it can be that simple if you’ve done your planning.
Don’t let doubt cloud your thinking. Don’t let the naysayers put you off doing what you know you should be doing. Show, don’t tell – how good your life will be when …
And it all comes down to Action….well when you know what you want and why you want “it” of course.
Remember: Motive plus Action = Motivation
Here’s another cartoon I did for a ‘His N Hers’ calendar a few years ago….
When commissioning cartoons… Pick TWO of the three options!
Good+Fast = Expensive Choose this and I’ll postpone every other project on my drawing board, my round of golf or give up my footy match ticket and work day and night to get your job done. It WILL NOT BE CHEAP though!
Good+Cheap = Slow Choose good and cheap and I’ll still do a great job at a discounted price. But you’ll have to be patient while I fit you in after my higher paying clients, updating my web site, going down the gym, my footy matches, rounds of golf and liquid lunches!
Fast+Cheap = Inferior Choose this option at your peril. It will still be delivered on time but it will be inferior, as many corners as possible will be cut. You know the saying ‘You get what you pay for!’ The least favorable option in my opinion!
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