In this post I want to focus on how you go beyond being a just a ‘sayer’ to actually getting things done; converting big thinking into small doing. I’d like to make a bet that the majority of the elite sportsmen/ women that have been able to turn their talent into lasting professional careers have this ability in spades.

The following may come as a surprise. Simply making a statement about what you plan to do, what your aims and goals are, can make you feel good. It’s worth repeating: Making a plan, regardless of whether you achieve it or not, can make you feel good; a positive affect. Similarly, the positive interaction you often get when you tell someone your goal(s) is (sometimes) an additional reward. “That sounds terrific; you’re going to be the next Rory McIlroy, excellent well done you for setting your goals so high, I’m very proud”. Sometimes this sort of interaction is even encouraged (without any follow-up) by parents and coaches alike. This is potentially a huge problem for the (almost) high achievers. It encourages a lot of saying and not a lot of doing.

The good feeling and excitement generated by stating your aims and goals can be so great that actually doing what it takes to achieve them (often on your own and mixed in with a few struggles along the way) becomes, at best, ho hum in comparison. “This is too hard – I want to feel good so I’ll make another plan”.

What can you do about this? Be sure that what you set out to do has enough meaning for you and only you. It’s your internal motivation that will be the bedrock in any achievement. Take satisfaction in keeping some of your goals to yourself rather than broadcasting to the world (this goes against conventional goal setting research). When you picture yourself achieving what you want to achieve, picture what it will take (day in, day out) and what you might have to overcome along the way.

If you are reading this as a coach remember to save your enthusiasm towards the player for the small steps along the way to achieving their goals. Some of the best coaches I’ve seen help players take small steps forward; they are encouraging about a player’s long term goals and at the same time careful to keep the player’s feet very much on the ground. They keep the player focused on task. As a friend of mine always reminds me, the process of improvement is not rocket science. True, but it doesn’t happen by saying or planning alone.

For the elite band of players, winter often means one thing: Swing Changes. In my experience a player often sees making a swing change as a utopian experience. “Once I get this move down everything will be different next year”. One swing fault or another is often used as an excuse for not being as successful as the player would like. This is a very lazy approach to improvement (even if you put the hours in trying to make a swing change). If you are part of the elite set of players and are serious about improvement I strongly challenge you to take a much wider view of your game and (dare I say it) yourself this winter. A good start is to seek out some role models – someone who is at the level you want to attain. How do they act in various situations? How do they train? How to they think? Then go a little further and work out what are the areas of you (and your game) that makes you special? How could you tap into these areas more often? Also, what challenges away from golf would benefit your game in the long run? How are you working on YOU? There’s a lot more to improvement than a swing change.

Here’s a sample – and something for all athletes (yes, golfers too!) about the power of competitive training…

Kenny’s life was not noticeably different from that of an Olympic athlete – except of course, that he still lived with his parents and was fitting his training in around a 40-hour working week.

Somehow he managed to fit a quality 5-mile run into his lunch hour, leaving time to warm down and change, but not to shower. He then summoned the energy for a proper evening session after work.

His training diary meticulously recorded for more than a decade in neat pencil: twice a day for 365 days of the year, rarely more than 90 miles per week: a distance quite low by modern standards, but it was the quality of his training that set him apart:

“I used to do the most incredible interval sessions”, Kenny remembered. “All my competitiveness went into my training as much as my racing. It was in my training that I really used to dig deep. The races were more like a bonus – the reward if you like”.

Kenny Stuart is one of Britain’s greatest unsung athletes. Of his many achievements, perhaps the most astounding is his record for the Ben Nevis Race. Fit walkers take 7 hours for such a journey. In 1984 Kenny Stuart took 1 hour 25 minutes and 34 seconds – which no one has come close to equalling since.

“It would be absolutely fantastic to win here. At the moment I am just thinking about hitting the 11th tee-shot. That’s all I can do.”

and on being compared to Tiger Woods:

“I just want to try to keep getting better and concentrate on this week and take one week at a time. You know, if I can just keep doing what I’m doing, playing well, hopefully a few years down the line I might be able to compete with him.”

Extended interview here.

Update: I’m impressed with the way he realises/ acknowledges his position in the tournament and [the key point] he also knows that the only thing he can effect is his next shot. You get the sense when you hear Rory talk that he thinks in ‘plain and simple’ terms. He doesn’t over complicate things. He knows the ‘importance’ of what he’s doing yet doesn’t dwell on the end game / result only on what’s coming up next.

When I think of a highly motivated individual I can picture someone who has a very clear idea of where they want to get to and is energised and excited by this prospect. The occasional knock back doesn’t really affect them and they have the ability to frame events and situations in such a way that helps get to their goal quickly. Their clarity of ‘where they want to be’ enables this person to live each moment in the moment rather than in the past or the future. They are risk takers and are willing to experiment out of their comfort zone as they know this will help them reach their goal quickly. The very highest achievers have the foresight to be able to see an ‘end result’ as an ever changing series of stages. They often take stock and ask themselves questions like: ‘what do I need to do to get to the next stage?’ and ‘what would it mean for me to achieve this?’

Discovering what excites you about your sport is the first step in developing motivation needed for achievement.

One way of ‘fostering’ motivation over a period of time and organising time and priorities is by setting goals. There is usually plenty of talk about goal-setting in sport psychology circles, particularly at this time of year. From my experience goal setting is not done particularly well as a rule and is often seen as a one-off process of setting some prize-related targets rather than an ongoing ‘review and reset’ of the processes involved in improving performance. Even at the highest level of the game I imagine very few top-level golfers get the most from a goal-setting process, yet it’s probably very common for tour players to set themselves a number of achievement-based goals at the start of the year (Top-50 in world, win a European Tour event, make-cut in all majors).

Start big and end small; take your dreams and shape them into smaller chunks. Keep asking what do I need to do today to help me achieve my goals?

It is much easier to live by your core values than some prescriptive to-do list. The more you can structure your goals around your core values the more rewarding the goal-setting process will be. An achievement goal such as: ‘winning the county championship’ would be well served by several value-based process goals such as: ‘take up another non-impact competitive sport to assist with co-ordination and fitness, pushing myself hard and playing to win whilst maintaining showing respect to opponent at all times’.

Continually ask ‘what do I need to do to achieve this goal’? How can I link this to my core values?

In golf we have the potential advantage of a short amount of time to prepare and decide on an intention for each shot prior to taking our set-up. How you use this time is crucial to your ability to play well consistently. However, I often see players’ using the time before the shot in such a way that can have a negative impact on their chances for a successful shot; producing indecision, overly technical thinking, and a fearful approach.

I recommend that you pay attention to how you develop commitment on a shot. The next time you play or practice consider the following questions:

What does it mean for me to be committed on a shot?
What are some of the factors I need to pay attention to in order to feel committed?
What are the differences between being “really aggressive” and being “really committed”?

From my experience with golfers, when it comes to competition or perceived pressure situations “common sense” isn’t very common. The player who is able to think clearly (and objectively) about future decisions and previous shots in the height of competition has a huge advantage towards playing successful golf.

I’m very keen on post-round reviews; one reason is for the opportunity to assess the best shots of the day, round-stats and areas needed to work on. In addition, and perhaps more importantly is the short time spent assessing the quality of a player’s decision making and response to shots: How much common sense were you applying to your decisions and post-shot thoughts today? What would be the “common sense” response in a particular situation?

There must be a better way. Surely, by very definition ‘playing’ any game should lead to enjoyment, creation, freedom, fun, and learning. Shouldn’t it? You’re not working after all? If you were to mark out of ten what your ratings were in your last medal round for those five headings, what would you score?

I’ve always been drawn to Bob Rotella’s notion of playing to play great that he often describes in his books. And yet, it always amazes me how hard this is to do and how often I notice myself playing with a mindset of ‘trying to not make mistakes’.

So what is an attitude of playing to play great? I believe it’s about being 100% committed to the shots you’re attempting (using your creative mind during shot selection), swinging with freedom to your target (knowing that by swinging freely you’re giving yourself the best chance to hit your target), being open to the possibility of having fun and hitting amazing shots (without placing yourself under huge expectations), and the ability to handle any result (and learn from it).

I’m convinced that this is not the same argument as playing aggressively versus playing defensively. The example of Tiger Woods’ last round in the 2006 Open at St. Georges could be used here; his play in that round could’ve been described as using a “defensive” strategy yet you imagine that his attitude was absolutely in the ‘playing to play great’ mode.

In your next round begin to be aware of your general approach to the game. How creative are you being? Are you swinging with freedom? What are you learning about your game? How would you hit putts if your only objective was enjoyment and fun?

Which would you choose?

Is losing a few hours of your life worth it to gain a ‘score’? What else are you seeking to achieve during a round of golf? How much enjoyment are you seeking by simply ‘playing’ the game? How are you spending the time you have between shots?