3 Life Skills learned playing golf!

I thought Golf was a very slow paced and boring game; that was when I was younger and naive. Wow!?I could not have been further to the truth.?Today I am hooked on to this precision game and enjoy it?thoroughly. I have learnt the following Life Skill lessons from Golf, which I unashamedly apply in Corporate Leadership roles.

Lesson 1: Keep your mind in the present moment. I have always asked myself, "how difficult can it be to hit a stationary ball with the face of a golf club?" Yet, as your conscious?mind rushes fast, thinking of the appraisal discussion with the boss yesterday and the dinner date later in the evening, it loses focus on the ball even as the swinging club makes the arc?approaching it. The consequences are disastrous, as the shot is?entirely messed up. Focus on the present moment. Focus on the ball -?in fact the one?edge of the ball -?which you are trying to hit. Your subconscious mind then?takes over the muscle memory and hits the ball precisely at the edge that the conscious mind was visualizing.?There are so many distractions in today's world, that it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay sharp and focused on the present moment... and yet that is an imperative for success in whatever we are doing, whether it is listening to someone in an official meeting, or brainstorming strategic?options in a board room.

?Lesson 2: Life is like a book, divided into Chapters. As in golf, where a game constitutes 18 holes, if you?have had a bad play during any one hole, it does not necessarily translate or extrapolate to a bad?play in the next hole. Corporate life, as with golf, is played between the ears. Positive thinking is ever so essential to a successful career. Take your learning from a previous hole, but move on with positivity to the next one. If you are still feeling miserable about a previous mistake, chances are very high that you?will mess up the next as well. In life too, do not extrapolate your success or failures to the next chapter. Your thinking and positive self-belief?can totally turn around a bad phase in your life. Likewise, a previous success may lull you into complacence and overconfidence.?Start afresh. Start positive. You have the power of Choice.

?Lesson 3: Egos and Emotions will distract from the job at hand. I have learnt in life that my only comparison should be with my own?performance yesterday. As long as I am improving today, that's all that matters. It is a downward spiral comparing yourself (or even your childen, believe it or not!)?with others.?If you have an audience watching you intently?as you take a swing for that shot, your mind may waver on questions like "what are they thinking about my game?" or even "Am I being judged here?". That's enough to mess up the shot - or any job at hand. Feeling emotionally low about anything will similarly distract from the job at hand. As long as there has been enough training put in before the game, your subconscious mind (your instinct) knows exactly what needs to be done for success. So stop the mental chatter, bring down the distracting?thoughts in your conscious mind to zero and let your instinct take over the action. Comparing yourself with the next player and feeling pressured on performance?is fruitless - though this is a tough one to handle in today's competitiveness. Let the calmness and composure prevail.

A good golfer will never say “I am a loser”. The mindset is always “I am a winner; so what if I lost this game today!”

Can you apply these seemingly?simple thoughts in your corporate roles and day-to-day lives??