Here are a few tips which come to mind as helpful ways in which you can control your anger.
I appreciate that sometimes one tip might appear to be a slight variation on another, but sometimes you will identify more with one way of saying something than another way in which the same thing may be described.
This is true also of physical golf lessons with your professional.
A good golf pro, like any good teacher, is an expert in finding the right way to describe something to the pupil, so as to relate on that pupils level.
This involves being an expert in communication.
1.
Stop generalizing - Depressed people tend to generalize things over context - "It always rains here" and so on.
Angry golfers tend to have the same trait.
"I always hit it in the water", "why is MY ball the one that's ALWAYS plugged?" Sounds familiar? What are the facts? What really happened? Get real and stop feeling sorry for yourself.
2.
Choose your thoughts - Believe it or not, you can do this.
Everything in life starts with a thought.
How you see things depends on how you choose to look at them.
You can choose to look at things from a different angle.
You can choose to look "on the bright side".
3.
Be positive - positive thinking does work.
And golf's a hell of a lot easier and a lot more fun when you're positive than when you're negative.
4.
Take control - let your tiger growl, but don't let him out of the cage! 5.
Grow up! - Quit whining.
Stop winging.
6.
Let go - Pretend you're a rag doll and shake your muscles out.
Remember mind works on body and body works on mind.
You cannot have a relaxed body at the same time as a tense mind.
So shake that anger out of yourself.
7.
Get help from the professionals - get yourself a golf hypnosis cd or hypnosis mp3 download to get your mind doing what you want.
Just listen to it as you go to sleep and you'll wake up feeling really chilled.
8.
Awareness precedes choice precedes change - why are you really angry? You have to know the cause to change the effect.
This is true of everything in life, not just golf.
Why do you worry about what people think? Why don't you think you can hit that shot? Why don't you see golf as a game and have some fun playing it? Why can't you laugh at yourself? "Why?" is a wonderful question, which will encourage mental exploration and subsequent discovery, so long as you are honest with yourself and so long as you follow the thread right back to its beginnings.
Think of the phrase "a train of thought" and imagine that you are in the rear carriage, right at the back of the train, and as you ask yourself "Why is that?" and find your own answer you'll move forwards to the next carriage.
Keep working through the carriages of your thought train and eventually you cannot help but reach the engine.
And once you reach that engine and become the driver of your train, you can choose your driving direction.
9.
Practice makes perfect - Put in more time practicing and get better; then there'll be less reasons to get angry.
10.
Think pretty - It's not always a pretty sight to "let it all hang out".
"Letting it rip" with anger usually escalates the anger and aggression and does nothing to help.
Stop being so selfish and try thinking of your poor playing partners for a change - they'd prefer a prettier sight.
11.
Miraculous mantras - slowly repeat a calm word or phrase, such as "relax" or "easy boy".
If that's what you're focusing on, then that's what you'll do.
Miracles will never cease, so long as you give them the opportunity to materialize.
12.
Close your eyes and visualize - remember the old phrase...
visualize a relaxing experience, either from memory or imagination and feel those waves of relaxation coursing through you.
13.
Take up Yoga - try some non-strenuous yoga-type of exercises and feel your muscles relax.
14.
Count to 10 - Another old remedy and it does work.
Counting to 10 allows you some time to re-engage your logical mind and move away from your instinctive tetchiness.
15.
Counting down from 100 - if your emotions are just TOO aroused to relax in the space of counting 1 to 10, take a longer break and count down from 100.
You'll be bored before long instead of angry and ready to move on to the next shot.
16.
Get Over It! - Move on, look forwards; it's a game.
17.
Look on the bright side - another of those sayings which have been kicking around for years - and very wise too.
Think Balloo the bear in "Jungle Book" and sing the song to yourself - it can't help but make you smile.
18.
If you can't beat them, join them - Accept it; if you aren't any good at the game, admit it! Just go out for some fun and learn to laugh at yourself.
19.
Always direct you focus chest level or higher when between shots.
When you look up your spirits will lift up as well.
When you look down you spirits go down.
20.
If this lot doesn't work...
sling the clubs away and find something else to do.
Roseanna Leaton, specialist in golf hypnosis cds and hypnosis mp3 downloads.