When observing some of the best athletes, artists, and business leaders, one can begin to understand the common denominator among all those at the top of their game… Obsession. A characteristic that is loaded with desire, coachability, growth mindset, grit, perseverance, stubbornness, work ethic, a relentless pursuit of something you want (and you will do whatever it takes to make it happen).
As an aspiring golf athlete or competitive player, to become one of the best or the best in your class or in the world, it may take an obsessive amount of work. I am writing this to many of the young golf athletes out there who are aspiring to become the next “#1” player in the world; the next Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods or Annika Sorenstam, Lydia Ko or Peggy Kirk-Bell. For these athletes, it wasn’t enough to be good, they were obsessed with being the best. If you read about their lives you could also make the argument that this is how their “real” lives are too. It is hard to be one way off the course and another on the course, so if you are thinking that in your daily life the details can slide, you can rest assured the details will slide on the course and becoming the golf-athlete you want to be, will slide right out the door.
Being the best is much more than working on golf swing mechanics or putting, but it is all of the elements that go into being the best version of yourself. It is waking up each day with the desire to want to learn and improve, incremental gains, understanding that you alone can not know everything and can not do everything. It takes you being coachable and finding the coaches to help guide you in your life where needed, and to help make your plan so you execute on it. Obsessive people will do what they need to do physically to be prepared for the rigors of whatever activity they approach, a sound body/sound mind mentality, in other words, Function Dictates Form. While on your journey to be the best, we have learned from the best or most obsessed that having a growth mindset is key. Learning that setbacks or not winning an event is only a step in the development process, continuing to challenge your skills are critical to the greater success you are looking for. Lastly, you have to have the right equipment for the task. Whether it is a keyboard for a pianist, the right canvas or paint brush for an artist, or the best golf ball or best wedge set up for the elite golfer. It is a stop production if these 5 Elements of Success are not guiding you and your team to becoming the best in the world.
Obsession is a scary word, but if you are wanting to be the best in the world at whatever it is you want to be, it will take an industrial amount of work to get there, and it is rarely done alone. If you are looking to be the best in the world, give us a call at The Golf Performance Center!
Enjoy Your Journey!
Roger
