Attention golfers, did you know that your believed handicap is actually handicapping your ability to bring out your full potential on the course? In this article, I will explain 3 reasons why your handicap is holding you back on the course and why it is essential to eliminate the internal belief in the idea of a handicap index in your golf game forever. The time has come to end the negative programming that the idea of a handicap index has created in your golf game so you can play your best on golf course and lower your score.
The first way your handicap is limiting your performance is because the word handicap is actually a negative programming word to your subconscious mind. Let’s take the word handicap out of a golf context for a moment. When you hear the word handicap what types of thoughts get conjured up in your mind?asianbookie handicap If you are like most people when you think about the word “handicap” you probably think about things like a physical or mental disability, or restrictions and limitations to do certain things in life. The next question to ask yourself is, when you hear the word handicap does it make you feel positive or negative inside? I have no doubt that the word “handicap” evokes negative feelings inside of you that are linked to that word at the subconscious level.
My background is in the areas of hypnosis and maximizing human potential. One of my jobs is to help my clients identify negative programming words they are using that are holding them back in life and to then help them to make a shift in their language so they can begin producing a new result. An acronym that can be used to explain how a seemingly simple word or a thought can effect results in life as well as on the golf course is T.F.A.R. T.F.A.R. stands for Thoughts, Feelings, Actions, and Results. This acronym provides a simple framework that shows the chain reaction that occurs in us with every thought we have.
Your thoughts about something create feelings. Your feeling towards something will determine your actions and your actions will determine your results. Positive thoughts create positive feelings. When we feel positive then we take positive actions. Positive actions lead to the results we desire. The opposite is also true. If you insert the word or idea of having a “handicap” in any area of life (including your golf game) into the beginning of this formula, then you will become aware, at the simplest level, how the word “handicap” is affecting your performance, score, and abilities on the course. When you think about the word handicap it creates negative images in the mind. These images then conjure up negative feelings and emotions. When we are in a negative state we tend to take no action, or wrong actions that are in alignment with the negative thought. No action or wrong action produce results that are less than what we are capable of.
Don’t underestimate the power of the words you use and their impact on your subconscious mind. It is important to know the subconscious mind always moves towards our dominate thought, but it doesn’t discern the difference between good or bad thoughts, it just supports the compelling and powerful thoughts. It is your job to program your inner mind to work for you instead of against you. The starting point is making shifts in your language.
Let’s now take it to the next level. The words that we consistently use form our internal belief systems and these belief systems govern our behaviors. Belief systems are much more powerful than words because they are things that we belief to be true about ourselves and ideas from others that have been accepted by the subconscious mind. These accepted ideas then become mental programs that direct our behaviors, thoughts, and feelings.
Unfortunately for most golfers, the consistent use of the word handicap in their language and in their thoughts has formed negative and limiting beliefs that holds the golfer back from tapping into their best more often.
The subconscious mind is nothing more than a bio-computer and can only operate on the programs that have been installed. It must follow the belief systems that are in place because that is all the inner mind knows to be true and its job is to make sure that these beliefs come into fruition. When we have accepted limiting beliefs as what is true for our experience on the golf course, then we tend to find and create situations that validate our beliefs and reinforce the negative thoughts in the mind, which only makes the belief system stronger. The words we use on a consistent basis form our belief systems. In the same way, the belief systems we maintain on a consistent basis reinforce our thoughts and behaviors which form the next level, our self-image
