Most of us golfers believe that we are capable of playing at a higher level. We know we can be better. We notice that we seem to be stuck in repeatable patterns of mistakes. Many of us are on an endless search for changes in technique and technology, searching for the missing key ingredients to success. Technique and technology are essential, but we usually find out that they aren't the secret ingredient to success. If we're paying close attention to how we practice and compete, we notice that we sabotage and limit ourselves. We may also discover that we unconsciously sabotage ourselves because we find ourselves doing things that we know are counterproductive, but can't seem to get out of our own way. We don't know why we do things that undercut our ability.
The most significant challenges we usually face are the mental ones and not the physical ones. The key problem that many of us have is that we don't know how to stop sabotaging ourselves. Even if we recognize how we are sabotaging ourselves, we may not be able to stop. Intellectual knowledge is helpful, but it isn't sufficient to make deep and powerful changes. We've tried everything we know and it isn't enough. We need something deeper and more powerful.
There's a deeper way of knowing and a deeper self-knowledge that we find when we develop a meditation practice. We find our center where we are in touch with our deep wisdom and passion. When we live, train, and compete from our center, we find more clarity about our strengths and weaknesses. We learn that the barriers that appear to be holding us back are actually invitations to develop, change, improve, and tap into the deep strength that we find inside in order to follow through on what will help us more forward as athletes and people.
This book of daily meditations for golfers has 366 meditations, one for each day of the calendar year. Each month has a different theme. Each meditation has some thoughts for your reflection and has a unique affirmation at the end, which you use for your meditation. You mindfully read the reflection and then meditate on the affirmation.
The Second Edition includes a mental game assessment so that readers can know how to use the book most effectively. The introduction is simpler. The meditations and affirmations have been updated and simplified for ease of use. The sanctuary meditation technique is more integrated throughout the book. The Meditation Scripts chapter has been updated and simplified. The language in the book is more conversational.
For many of us golfers, playing at a high level or "in the zone" is an unpredictable event. We don't know when or why it happens. After we have learned to meditate effectively, we recognize that the experiences that we have while meditating are similar to the experiences we have while playing in the zone. That's because playing in the zone is a meditative state. We can learn to play in the zone more often by learning to meditate in the right ways. When we learn to meditate well, we learn to manage ourself in ways that are conducive to optimal performance. That's what this book teaches you to do.
Meditation may not be what you think it is. This form of meditation does not require you to sit for long periods of time in silence. This form of meditation actively uses your imagination. It's simple to learn and practice. The book assumes that you do not have any experience with meditation. With this book, you have a program for developing your mental game in as little as 15 minutes per day.
About the Author: William Chandon, Ph.D, is a mental performance coach who teaches athletes and coaches how to reach their potential and grow as competitors and people. He draws on his broad experience as a golfer and athlete in many sports in high school, college, and beyond.
He has a doctoral degree in human and organizational development. For over thirty years, he has had a passion for understanding how the mind works. He studied philosophy as a Jesuit seminarian and learned about the power of thinking and meditation to transform lives. He has practiced meditation himself for over thirty years and is an avid golfer.
He also wrote Mind Games: Daily Meditations for Great Athletes; Mind Games: Meditations for Great Putting; Mind Games: Meditations for Great Coaches; and Meditation for Active People. He co-wrote the management book Smart Questions: Learn to Ask the Right Questions for Powerful Results. You can reach Dr. Chandon or find our more at www.williamchandon.com.
