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How to Maximize Performance with Less Effort!
By Ed O¹Keefe

"I need to try harder and have better focus!"
"I need more repetitions!"
"I need to spend more time at the range, on the course!"

This is what I hear from most golfers trying to improve their performance. It¹s not a bad theory if you aren¹t putting in the time on the course, and getting enough swings, but if you are, spending more time may actually hurt your game big time.

When you are relaxed and feeling good about your game and your ability, you perform better. In other words, when your emotion is one of confidence and certainty about your ability, the end result will be much better. If you are over stressed, over anxious, angry, or too nervous, your end result will be much worse, and during these times, trying harder just makes you get more stressed, more anxious, and more frustrated. Which then tenses up your muscles, makes you think too much, has you focus on what you are doing wrong, which just makes you do worse, and then the whole cycle starts again. This is how a person can start off doing really good the first couple of holes, have one bad shot and then start focusing on what he did wrong, and "try" to make it better by trying harder, rather than just letting things flow.

Here are 3 Master Keys to enter the Zone and creating the Peak Performance more consistently:

They are:
1) Your Physiology: your physiology is how you use your body. How you breathe. How you move. Whether you are moving fast or slow. Where your shoulders are at: Are they shrugged or are they back. Where your head is at: Is it up or down? Your physiology is the fastest way to change your emotions and the structure of you focus! In other words. remember how you move when you are having an outstanding day, and walk, breathe, and move the same way. Think back to a day when everything was just flowing and you were hitting the ball with ease. Now, notice how you moved. Next time you set foot on the course, make yourself a promise that you are only going to walk, breathe, and act like you did that day.

2) The second way to master your focus is through your language, otherwise known as your self talk. What you say to yourself and how you say it will determine how you feel and where your brain focuses. Use phrases like: I can do this (fill in the blank)
     I will shoot 4 under par today
     I am shooting 4 under par today.
     I get better as I go, and I adjust to all my mistakes quickly.
     I always get better on the back nine.
Point #2 about your language! Never ever, ever, tell your mind what it is that you "don¹t" want to happen. For example,.I don¹t want to hook this. I don¹t want to have a terrible back nine today. Your brain goes right to that thought, and that is what you just programmed your mind to do. A lot of golfers will look right at the bunkers and say, "I don¹t want to hit it in the bunker". Since your brain doesn¹t understand the word don¹t, all it hears is, "I want to hit it in the bunker".

Instead of using "don¹t", replace it with what you¹d like to happen. I will hit it straight down the fairway. I will have my best back nine ever today!

3) The third way to master your focus is through the process of visualization. Now, this is where I begin to teach you "How to Maximize your Performance with less Effort!" This is probably the most effective way to pre-program your mind and body before competition so that you respond without thinking and you compete naturally.

Key points: Visualize yourself performing perfectly, right before you go to bed at night. Whatever you think about before you go to sleep runs through your unconscious 16 times. (Now that¹s practice!) Also, go through any skill that you are performing poorly and see yourself perform that skill perfectly over and over again.

By simply learning these 3 skills, you can easily change how you perform. Go ahead and try it for a day. You may not be perfect right away, but that¹s okay. Once you¹ve used those 3 Master Keys, then move onto another one or two next two. Until then, Good Luck and those who focus like a champion feel like a champion!

Ed O'Keefe
Professional Peak Performance Coach, Inspirational Speaker
author of "Ten Secrets For Teen Success" and "Focus Like A Champion!"
The O'Keefe Group, 9316 S. Turner, Evergreen Pk, IL 60805; 708 424 5074