Master Your Game
This Issue: Establishing Your Tactical Game
Dear Reader,
Summary
After establishing your target,
it is imperative that you establish a strategy. Here are
four factors that have assisted me in executing my strategy:
- Taking action
- Being focused when in action
- Learning from the action and adjusting for the next one
- Being persistent.
Take Action
One thing that seems to separate winners
from losers
more than anything else is that winners take
action.
- Jack Canfield, renowned educator,
author and motivational speaker
We all have different styles. Some spend more
time in the planning stage, creating the perfect plan
so that the first step is just right. Others are
constantly in action. With the latter, the challenge
will be to slow down, methodically choose the next
set of actions and do them one at a time.
To move toward your target it is necessary to take
action. Whatever your working style, nothing
happens without action.
Focus
Do you find that between your personal life and work
there seems to be a never ending demand on your
time? Do people also expect a high quality
performance? Do you worry just
a little bit about delivering everything that is
expected?
We can learn a lot from professional golfers by
watching how they deal with all of those eyes
watching them, waiting for that perfect swing. Two
things you will notice: they have a high level of
confidence as well as the ability to block out the
world and focus on the task at hand.
The secret is to simply aim at your target, decide on
the first action then focus exclusively on taking this
action until it is complete. When you have completed
the action, you can look around, assess the situation
and get ready to take the next step with complete
focus. Zoom in and zoom out, just like a camera.
Zoom in the focus to take the action then zoom out
to assess priorities and decide on the next action.
Learn and Adjust
Do you worry about not doing things right? You are
not alone. We were all born with egos and most of us
developed a fear of 'being wrong' and looking stupid.
In my first year of golf lessons I bet I said sorry
100 times. Every time I did not hit the ball the way
my coach asked I said sorry. Then I thought: What
did I have to be sorry about? I was learning!
When you are out there taking action, stop for a
moment and pay attention to the feedback you are
receiving. Make sure you say "Thank you" because
they have contributed to your learning. Use this
learning to adjust your next action.
As you learn you are able to zigzag your
way towards your target. By using the feedback you
can decrease the size of the zigzag and move toward
the target faster.
Not receiving any feedback? Ask for it. Try:
- What did I do really well?
- What would you like me to keep doing?
- What would you like me to do differently?
Every time I talk to my coach about my game I get
feedback and a chance to learn. I use the
information he gives me to adjust my swing or to
determine the focus of my practice.
Persistence
As you move toward your target you may think "it is
never going to work," "I don?t know how to do this"
and "why did I pick this target." Quitting somehow
seems so much easier.
When Terry Fox was asked how he keeps going
as exhaustion set in with
thousands of miles yet to go, he answered, "I just
keep running to the next telephone pole."
On my journey to achieve a golf index of 12
(score of 89), I spent three years hovering
between 18 and 20. I had a couple of brilliant games
each year, but mostly I would shoot around a
hundred dipping down into the 90s on occasion. It
would have been easy to quit those weekly golf
lessons. Or, for that matter, quit playing golf
altogether and take up some other sport. After all I
seemed to have reached my natural level.
But I did not quit; I persisted. I kept taking the
lessons and practicing my swing to make it better
and better. Like Terry, I tried until I reached the next
telephone pole and the next.
Taking action, focusing, learning and persisting pays
off. I know. However, when I learned the secrets of
the mental game, that's when my game really soared.
More about that in the next issue.
Hone your swing,
Jacque Small
Catalyst Business Coaching is a corporate development organization. It works with people
who want to achieve a greater sense of success for both themselves and others in the organization.
It supports people to develop strong interpersonal communication skills and build foundations to
develop dynamic teams. Jacque Small, principal and owner of Catalyst, founded the company in 2000..
