I heard an interview with golf coach Karl Morris on sports radio recently. Karl works more on the psychology of playing golf than the mechanics of the swing (themindfactor.net). One piece of advice he gives is that golfers should always keep their eyes over the pin when walking to take their next shot. This is especially true after a bad shot when the tendency is to look down and feel sorry for oneself. This is only likely to make things worse. But keeping your eyes on or over the pin reminds you of your object – to put the ball in the hole and helps maintain a positive frame of mind.
This struck me as being great advice for any activity and for life in general. Just keeping your eyes up and on your target can keep you positive and focused in all your endeavors. This could be the completion of a project, hiring a team, getting a new position or any other work task. Keep a positive attitude and the target in view.
You can also apply it to your personal life and mental health. The best advice in Stephen Covey’s ‘The 7 Habits of highly effective people’ is to exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes every other day which is less than two hours in a week. Exercise is recommended by Covey to ‘sharpen the saw’ in your physical dimension. It is one of those Quadrant II activities that you have to make time for.
I also find that regular exercise helps with Covey’s other three dimensions as well, Social/Emotional, Spiritual and Mental. Since reading the book over ten years ago I jog three days a week for over 30 minutes, typically a 6 km (4 mile) run. My resting heartrate is around 50 beats per minute. It is now an ingrained habit and has helped with my physical fitness and mental outlook.
Since hearing Morris’ tip to keep your eyes over the pin, I now make sure that I always have eyes on the horizon or over the hedge ahead when I run. Previously, I may have looked down at the ground or the lower part of the route ahead. This is a bad habit I developed from childhood. I once read that it was unlucky to walk on a crack in the pavement. To make sure I didn’t I developed a habit of looking down when I walked. This was not good for my posture nor my mental outlook.
Now, thanks to Morris’ advice, I keep my eyes ‘over the pin’, my route ahead. This has helped my posture and my attitude. I also see more. I look around at the countryside and glance down occasionally to make sure I don’t trip in a pothole. I am much more aware of my surroundings.
The same attitude can be applied to work. Keep looking at your ‘pin’ to avoid being sidetracked. Keep looking up to maintain a positive frame of mind. Don’t spend too much time catastrophizing about your last ‘bad shot’. Also maintain good all-round surveillance of your surroundings so you are not surprised.
Keep you eyes over the pin and achieve your goals with a good attitude.