Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast

It had been a couple months since I had been out on the driving range to hit some golf balls, so before getting started I slowed way down to zone in on my routine.

I am still a beginner in golf, so I had little expectation of being able to hit the ball well.

I was happy to just be in the process of focusing and seeing what outcome would come of it.

I started by just feeling my hips sway back and forth and letting go of any need to crush the ball. I just wanted to feel the rhythm.

I then took some practice swings and was diligent about keeping my head down and focusing on the target.

I took my first swing and boom! Crushed it.

Beautiful arc and distance straight ahead.

A little surprised I picked up another ball and took another swing.

Beautiful! Another picture perfect drive.

I allowed myself to enter a state of no mind as I continued to alternate golf clubs and continued to see great outcomes.

That was until my sneaky rational mind made an appearance.

I started to think to myself how am I hitting the ball so well without having practiced for so long?

What am I doing that’s working so well?

Am I going to hit every ball perfectly?

Before I knew it my conscious mind had gotten me right into the dumpster.

I was hitting ground ball drives and shanking all over the place.

I observed how this was happening and felt the need to get myself more hyped up to focus better.

The harder I tried, the worse I hit the ball.

Then the mental performance in me made his appearance and found this all pretty funny. I knew I had gotten myself into this rut, so how could I get myself back out?

I retraced the patterns that had gotten me hitting the ball well and started to implement them one by one.

Step 1: Keep my focus on the target. As we covered through my mountain biking story a couple weeks back; where our focus goes our energy flows. 🌊

Step 2: Stop forcing it and instead release control and allow the swing to flow with ease and grace (Power vs Force.)

Step 3: Stop rushing ahead to the next shot. Pour myself fully into the present moment and surrender everything else.

Step 4: Turn my thinking mind off and trust that no mind is better than a thinking mind.

Step 5: Find joy and gratitude in the process. Great performances come from great energy.

Step 6: Take more time and do less to hit the ball better. It’s better to hit one ball every minute than two balls every minute when the one ball gets hit perfectly.

Step 7: Treat each swing like it’s my last. Bring the intention and make it count.

The more I stacked these principles, the better I hit the ball ,until finally I was hitting beautiful shots once again.

I had found my way back home.

Why share this story?

It’s a parable for life.

My immediate download after playing was that the way I was limiting my performance playing golf, was the same way I was limiting my performance in other aspects of my life.

What leads to my best performance and I imagine what leads to your best performance is pulling back from the fast food mentality our culture hypnotizes us into and sinking into the present moment with intention.

As my buddy once told me: “High vibes, never in a rush.”

And as the famous martial arts quote goes: “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”

If you’re picking up what I’m putting down smash that like button and share this with someone you know is striving for elite level performance in their life.

All the best,

Brandon

#theowned