by Deborah De Vita
So, you think that you are a little-known player!
With the Masters Golf Tournament just behind us, we should take a moment
to reflect on those little-known golfers who seemed down and out but who never
gave up.
The year is 1987. The place is the Masters Tournament in Augusta.
One such little-known player whose performance was inspirational was Larry
Mize. Never heard of him. Well, here is his story!
Larry was definitely the underdog going into a playoff against two-time
Masters Champion Seve Ballesteros and the No. 1 player in the world at the
time, Greg Norman. No pressure there!
Imagine the negative mind-chatter going on in Mize’s brain: “This is
impossible.” “What was I thinking?” “I’m not good enough to beat these two
champions.” His internal emotional saboteurs must have been working
overtime to squelch any hopes that he might have had on winning this
prestigious tournament.
I suspect that Larry’s internal negative saboteurs were hard at work on his
confidence.
Richard Leivenberg of bleacherreport.com sets the stage for us….
Ballesteros’ three-putt on the first play-off hole turned the battle into
Mize vs. Norman – a David vs Goliath situation, at best.
On the next hole, Mize’s ball lay about 100 feet from the cup and
off the green while Norman’s was closer and at the fringe.
Mize did something unthinkable. He shifted his thoughts to his right brain,
quieting his negative saboteurs, and with laser-focus he “lofted a sand wedge
that bounced twice and rolled neatly into the cup. A stunned Greg Norman
could not follow suit.”
For Mize, the unthinkable became reality. He had won the Masters and “the
shot of him throwing his club into the air when the ball disappeared into the
cup” says it all! His was the most unforgettable finish ever at the Masters.
You may be saying so what, I’m not a professional golfer. The take-away for
you is this:
- Learn to recognize when your saboteurs are trying to hijack you.
- Become adept at shifting from a negative to a positive mindset
when you face challenges and/or negative situations and, - Always believe that with every challenge with which you are
confronted there is a Gift and Opportunities.
Deborah De Vita is the owner of E3LifeCoach in Aiken. To discover how E3LifeCoach can show you how to change your mindset and boost your perfomance, visit https://www.e3lifecoach.com/program.html
