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“When I say it’s the best I’ve ever been mentally, I mean I didn’t get ahead of myself at any stage.
I didn’t start to think about my score. I didn’tthink about where I was in the tournament. I just kept playing my shot after shot.
I’m not really focusing on anything else but the next particular shot that I haveand I keep doing that shot after shot.”
– Rory McIlroy, Top professional golfer
These words came from Rory McIlroy after he’d won the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday just gone. You don’t need to be into golf or sport to get inspiration and insight from this top performer’s words.
To me, it highlights one of the main keys to happiness, clarity and top performance. Not over-thinking and just playing the shot in front of you 100%.
Very often it can look like we’re doing something but inside we’re thinking about ‘other’ things at the back (or front!) of our minds.
For example:
*Worrying about what might happen. *Anticipating what someone will say. *Being ‘bored’ with the work in front of us. *Thinking about something rather than being there.
*Beating myself up for a mistake made…
McIlroy’s words could easily have come from a top business person or indeed a zen master. Putting your complete attention on your ‘next particular shot’ increases your performance in that shot.
Maybe as an experiment, this week when you’re playing your own game, (be it work, life or sport) you can practice playing ‘one shot at a time’. That is, dropping all thoughts and giving complete focus to the task at hand.
ps – Of course it’s easier to be in the moment when there’s low turbulence in your personal life. And McIlroy is a case in point himself.
