3 Levels of Confidence
5/9/2012
Confidence=Trust
One of the toughest things to do in sport and life is to trust “it.” There are different levels of trust though and there is also a process. Here is how it works:
MECHANICS:
When I was assisting the Carson-Newman College baseball team some years back, one pitcher told me “ I love what you do, but I can’t trust my poor mechanics.” The goal as Ben Hogan stated is a “repeatable golf swing.” This is a core of training, practice, and the first step toward trust. We need sound mechanics.
If we can’t trust that our stuff is “good enough,” we will revert back to this stage. More so, mechanics can become the only part of our game that we actually practice. These individuals play golf-swing, and they search for a different cue, feeling, or swing. Players that are “searchers” also stay in this realm or come back very quickly when things start to get off.
Confidence is a feeling, and when we lose the feeling, it may mean that the mechanics need an adjustment.
PROCESS:
The next step in developing trust is in the process of what we are trying to do. We must develop a level of comfort in our decisions: line, club, wind, & routine.
I can think of nothing worse than knowing that the putt is left edge and changing the line while standing over the putt. We just didn’t trust the process. We couldn’t let it go.
Individuals that are feel players can trust the process easier as well. They simply trust the stick in their hand and can commit to the shot without too much thought.
Confidence is a feeling, and when we don’t trust our decisions or our reads, we need to focus on just letting it go.
MANAGE THE GAME:
When a caddy tells his player to “trust” it, he is really saying, “just swing it.” The mental side of confidence is in managing the game. Competitors live in this area. These individuals play with what they have that day and do not get too far ahead of themselves. The best hate to lose and they refuse to get down on themselves, blame others, and they never, ever, give up.
They find a way.
Players can sometimes get caught up here thinking that there is just one way to get it done, and they have to “grind,” can’t relax, talk to others, or have fun playing. I think the opposite is true, we play better when we are relaxed.
Confidence is a feeling and those in this stage simply want to be under pressure. They want the game on the line.
CONFIDENCE:
Confidence is a feeling when we have it, when we don’t have it, it is thoughts. The best can diagnose what level they need to work on if they are not playing consistent. Last, the best also believe and trust it more, period.
Dr. Rob Bell is the author of Mental Toughness Training for Golf, and an AASP certified Sport Psychology consultant. He has PGA Tour credentials and has worked with winners on the PGA Tour. He consults with athletes, coaches, and teams at all levels helping build and enhance their own mental toughness.
His website is www.drrobbell.com and you can find him on Twitter @drrobbell
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A Commercial in 1992 & Sport Psychology
5/8/2012
Most of my life, I have been a sport obsessed honk, not only playing, but also following every sport, in every possible venue. For instance, as a kid, I used to watch EVERY SINGLE match of Wimbledon on HBO during the summer. I just assumed that the best win, end of story. I had no idea that there was a mental component to winning or even playing consistent.
In 1992, my beliefs changed. Reebok had launched a campaign titled Dan or Dave, who is the best athlete in the world? Who will take home the Gold medal in the Barcelona Olympics? The competition was between Dave Johnson and Dan O’Brien, two USA decathletes.
Even before the Olympics began, during Olympic trials, Dan O’Brien was leading after the 1st day of competition and on record-setting pace. However, during the 8th event, the pole vault, Dan O’Brien stunningly failed in three attempts, scored zero points, and drifted to last place. He said, “it was like a dream, I wanted to turn to somebody and say, “Do something.”
However, he also said something I’ll never forget. During his weakest moment, he said “I pity anyone who goes against me in the next four years.” I was so intrigued that anything like this had happened that I began to follow his career, even cutting out the newspaper clipping [above] from that day!!!
Dan O’Brien began to see a sport psychologist to help with his mental preparation. He admitted that there were too many variables in his preparation and he needed to become more mentally tough. Well, in 1996, he won the Gold medal in the Decathlon in Atlanta and set the all-time record.
His trials and successes were the impetus in my own journey of becoming a mental coach. I knew from that moment I wanted to help athletes feel the greatest joy of performing well when it mattered the most.
Dr. Rob Bell is the author of Mental Toughness Training for Golf, and an AASP certified Sport Psychology consultant. He has PGA Tour credentials and has worked with winners on the PGA Tour. He consults with athletes, coaches, and teams at all levels helping build and enhance their own mental toughness.
His website is www.drrobbell.com and you can find him on Twitter @drrobbell
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Run a marathon, write a book, and make a hole-in-one in 3 steps
4/25/2012
Why does anyone do anything? -Because they can. We must first view events, as things we “get” to do, not “have to” do. This shift in attitude allows us the freedom to pursue what we really want to achieve.
I often say “simple, but not easy.” The steps are simple, but it does take hard work, a few mental skills, and some luck. I am fortunate enough to have achieved these milestones and simply want to share the (3) simple, but not easy strategies.
- Write out your bucket list.
In college, I heard about Ted Leonsis writing down 100 things he wanted to do before he died, and I simply did the same thing. When I was teaching Sport Psychology at the university, I had my students write out their list, except they had to frame the list so they would see it every day.
What is it that you want to achieve, experience, visit, or accomplish? It’s easy and fun to start, but can get tough later on: because do you really want to party with Jay-Z, or ride across the United State on a Harley? Thing big when writing out your list, but only write down what you really want to do.
You have to get lucky… I had my first hole-in-one two Sundays ago. If I hit it close, it was a good shot, but it went in, so I was lucky (irony). I am happy that I actually achieved one of the goals that Ted Leonsis hasn’t had yet, a hole-in-one. 
One of my athletes stated the “he” got better because he saw what the great players did and would simply repeat their behaviors, practice habits, etc. Writing my book, I used two mentors, Malcolm Gladwell and John Grisham.
First, I followed Malcolm Gladwell’s books and his writing style. He starts off every chapter with a story, and infused research thereafter to back-up the claims. Perfect! I can do that! I used John Grisham as a guide, because he would write every day before going to the courtroom. When my daughter was born, I would take the early morning feedings, and she and I would then open up the coffee shop for and hour and half of writing, while she slept.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”-Aristotle
Starting graduate school, I needed discipline in my life, so I began running. Slow and short at first, not many miles per week , or much of a pace, but I was consistent. I then witnessed the finish of a Philly Marathon, followed point #1, and I made it a goal.
I already had a small base of running underneath me, so I just upped the mileage, talked with experts, read a book, and ran…. I ran 6 days a week for four months of training, and ran a respectable 3:32 marathon.
The best part was when my second marathon came around, I knew how to train, what worked, what didn’t, repeated the behaviors, and ran faster.
Whatever it is that we want to do, we must make it a habit, and simply do it every day, period. “Simple, not easy.”
Dr. Rob Bell is the author of Mental Toughness Training for Golf, and an AASP certified Sport Psychology consultant. He has PGA Tour credentials and has worked with winners on the PGA Tour. He consults with athletes, coaches, and teams at all levels helping build and enhance their own mental toughness.
His website is www.drrobbell.com and you can find him on Twitter @drrobbell
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Book that changed my life
4/21/2012
Man’s Search for Meaning
Last week, A retired pastor approached me after a talk and asked if I knew the work of : Logotherapy. I replied Yes!, Viktor Frankl’s book changed my life “In fact, that is why I put his teachings in my own book.” The book was introduced to me by my psychology professor at Shepherd University, Dr. Joe Merz. I do not believe in coincidences, so I am revisiting the book.
Briefly, Viktor Frankl accounts his personal experiences from the concentration camp of Auschwitz in WWII….
“An abnormal reaction to abnormal behavior is normal”: He stated that our greatest strength is that we can find meaning in every moment, even during our suffering. In fact, we have choice and freedom even in extreme suffering. The power is in hope….Not surprisingly, Jim Collins’ Book: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t
: discusses Dick Stockdale who was also a prisoner of war. Dick Stockdale lamented: “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end…BUT confront the brutal reality of your current state.”
Frankl stated that we find meaning in our lives in 3 ways: 1) creating a work or doing a deed- makes sense…When we do something productive, we feel good about ourselves. 2) experiencing something or someone-spending time with friends, loved one’s, or even experiencing the concept of truth can spark our deepest emotion of love. 3) attitude we take toward suffering…whoa! wait! suffering??!
It is our attitude toward events that we can’t control, only through suffering can we transform a tragedy into a triumph, our predicament into an achievement—we are challenged to change ourselves—Suffering is not necessary to find meaning, but it is unavoidable…..
Dr. Rob Bell is the author of Mental Toughness Training for Golf, and an AASP certified Sport Psychology consultant. He has PGA Tour credentials and has worked with winners on the PGA Tour. He consults with athletes, coaches, and teams at all levels helping build and enhance their own mental toughness.
His website is www.drrobbell.com and you can find him on Twitter @drrobbell
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What we can learn from Sergio Garcia
4/18/2012
In the opening scene of the movie, White Men Can’t Jump, Woody Harrelson, states before each shot, “No way I make this shot.” Well, of course, he makes every one. Sergio Garcia’s “ I’m not capable of winning a major” comments at The Masters may be the same: reverse psychology.
Homer’s Brain: Don’t you get it? You’ve gotta use reverse psychology.
Homer: That sounds too complicated.
Homer’s Brain: OK, don’t use reverse psychology.
Homer: All right, I will!
The way Sergio will free up his game and mind is by being brutally honest. What better way to remove all of the talk about “winning a major” by announcing that you won’t?
Here are the aspects we can learn from Sergio Garcia. (Each italicized segment is the take home message for our own journey).
Sergio Garcia has always had the game: 22 professional wins, 7 wins on the PGA Tour, nine top five’s in majors, capped by winning The Players Championship in 2008 and overall ranking of #2 in the world.
He has consistently been one of the best ball-strikers on Tour. The only hindrance “performance-wise” has been his putting. Recently, Sergio seemed “on-track,” winning back-to-back European tour events (Castelló Masters & Andalucía Masters) in the fall of 2011. In 2012, he admitted that his attitude had changed toward the better and game-wise.
- For us, we should focus on our successes in our sport, no matter how small.
However, he has also had some demons: He has struggled mightily with his emotions and behaviors, as well as close loses at the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie and the 2008 PGA championship at Oakland Hills. More so, is that he has had to carry the expectations of being compared to both Tiger and being the next Seve Ballesteros. Add the fact, that he has often been a beacon for the media fodder, akin to the late Ted Williams.
- We have to recognize our own shortcomings. This is very, very difficult to do, but crucial for improvement.
Sergio Garcia plays better when the focus is not on him: Research by Sorrentino and Sheppard (1978) examined swimmers’ personalities that either sought out acceptance or avoided rejection. Their research of collegiate swimmers showed that those who sought approval were better swimmers on relay teams and those who avoided rejection swam faster by themselves. 57
The Ryder Cup is all about the team and not an individual player. Prior to the 2008 Ryder Cup, Sergio Garcia had previously won fifteen points out of a possible twenty. He was unbeaten in eight foursome matches and stood at 5-1-2 in fourball. His only blemish was that he lost three out of four singles matches in Ryder Cup play.
In 2008, Sergio Garcia was thrust from merely being a team player to being a central “leader” (outside of the vacuum), which was absent of both Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomery, who had been leaders and staples of past victorious teams. Thus, Sergio was thrust into an uncomfortable de facto leadership role. Sergio quite frankly stated “I’m not going to kick out my chest and say I’m the leader of this team, no” 59 The 2008 Ryder Cup was his worse performance to date, as he went 0-2-2, magnified by his embarrassing 5&4 loss to the younger Anthony Kim (who is an interesting case as well), which took Sergio’s lifetime single record to 1-4. He did not play on the 2010 team.
- We accomplish this by committing to improvement; each and every practice. Focus on the aspects we can control, and continually be a good teammate.
Sergio Garcia plays better with no expectations. There are two types of player mentalities: 1) If you tell someone they can’t do something, they will actually do it. 2) The other mentality is that they will agree with you. Can someone admit that they can’t win a major and actually do it? I think Sergio was telling the truth and some work needs to be made on his confidence, however, I also believe it helps remove some of the expectations.
- Remove all expectations from our play and focus on the most important play, the next play.
“Winning a major is like laughing, you can’t force it.”
Note: Thanks to Mike Jenkins at @ifulikegolf and www.ifyoulikegolf.com
Dr. Rob Bell is the author of Mental Toughness Training for Golf, and an AASP certified Sport Psychology consultant. He has PGA Tour credentials and has worked with winners on the PGA Tour. He consults with athletes, coaches, and teams at all levels helping build and enhance their own mental toughness.
His website is www.drrobbell.com and you can find him on Twitter @drrobbell
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14 brief thoughts from The Masters
4/12/2012
- It is a glimpse of what Heaven will be like.
- Bubba Watson’s testimony after the round and that other players were there for him on the 10th green is a statement of his character.
- The most sacred part of the course, “amen” corner, is free of patrons.
- The practice rounds are like PGA Tour events. There are “roars” on monday.
- Even Stevie Williams has to wear the green hat at all times.
- They actually rake the divots on the range, while the players are practicing and warming up.
- Being a part of my players team, allowed me to ride up Magnolia Ln, which is akin to going backstage.
- Got to witness Bo Van Pelt’s ace on 16 from atop 6th tee-box.
- Tiger Woods behavior was just plain poor. He’s always done it, but he was winning before.
- There were no less than four attendants in “every” bathroom at Augusta National.
- A sandwich and drink is $3.00.
- I’ll never watch it the same on T.V.
- My player can win this event.
- Meeting TobyMac was cool.
Dr. Rob Bell is the author of Mental Toughness Training for Golf, and an AASP certified Sport Psychology consultant. He has PGA Tour credentials and has worked with winners on the PGA Tour. He consults with athletes, coaches, and teams at all levels helping build and enhance their own mental toughness.
His website is www.drrobbell.com and you can find him on Twitter @drrobbell
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Masters Contest
4/3/2012
Win Free Book: Mental Toughness Training for Golf
Win Free DVD: Mental Toughness Training for Golf
&
A Masters Hat!!! 
Rules:
- Pick your winner & score. 1 pick only! Pick must be posted my FB page or Twitter, only.
- Twitter MUST use the hashtag: #Mentaltoughness
- Tie-breaker-whomever picked 1st.
- DEADLINE: Midnight-April 4th
Dr. Rob Bell is the author of Mental Toughness Training for Golf, and an AASP certified Sport Psychology consultant. He has PGA Tour credentials and has worked with winners on the PGA Tour. He consults with athletes, coaches, and teams at all levels helping build and enhance their own mental toughness.
His website is www.drrobbell.com and you can find him on Twitter @drrobbell
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2 important baseball statistics
3/26/2012
Baseball is the only sport where “MAN” is the only thing that scores.
- Win the big inning: Almost 90% of the time the team that has the biggest inning wins.
- 50% of time a team scores the most runs in one inning beats teams runs for that game…
Key to all of this: ON BASE %
Source: Oregon State Baseball
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Body language doesn’t talk…
3/19/2012
It Screams!!!
Last week, A free-book was awarded for “which sport emphasizes body language the Most”. Many answers, stated, “all of them.” Well, here is a quick read on Body Language Importance for all sports.
http://blog.stack.com/2012/03/16/mental-toughness-body-language/
Dr. Rob Bell is the author of Mental Toughness Training for Golf, and an AASP certified Sport Psychology consultant. He has PGA Tour credentials and has worked with winners on the PGA Tour. He consults with athletes, coaches, and teams at all levels helping build and enhance their own mental toughness.
His website is www.drrobbell.com and you can find him on Twitter @drrobbell
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Body Language Importance: BLI
3/15/2012
Winner of Book: Mental Toughness Training for Golf: Jonathan Darling
Body language is important in nearly every sport, but it is most important in Gymnastics.
Not only are the athletes asked to execute incredible displays of athleticism, but to smile while doing it. Gymnasts have to smile after a poor routine or dismount, even though it is probably the last thing that they want to do.
“Body language doesn’t talk, it screams.”
There is a mind-body relationship. Yes, our thoughts dictate how we feel, but the opposite is also true. Our body language often dictates our thoughts and our feelings. Simply put, mental toughness requires good body language. More to come next week when the article is published….
Honorable mentions of Body Language Importance: BLI
1) Poker: Yes- 100% @phillippiansdac & @mitchpgapro. Practically the ONLY reason this was not #1 was because Gymnastics wins out on the athleticism, and injury factor, and that you can’t smoke and do it.
2) Figure Skating-Huge BLI. They often have to fake it as well with their BL if they do not stick a landing and they also have to smile during their performance as well.
3) Competitive Cheer: again, 100% on the money @bkavicky. The nod still has to go the NCAA sanctioned and Olympic sport of Gymnastics.
4) Bull-Fighting- Um, yep.
Dr. Rob Bell is the author of Mental Toughness Training for Golf, and AASP certified Sport Psychology consultant. He consults with athletes and coaches at all levels helping build and enhance their own mental toughness.
His website is www.drrobbell.com and you can find him on Twitter @drrobbell
Share on Facebook
Dr. Rob Bell is the author of Mental Toughness Training for Golf, and an AASP certified Sport Psychology consultant. He has PGA Tour credentials and has worked with winners on the PGA Tour. He consults with athletes, coaches, and teams at all levels helping build and enhance their own mental toughness.
