Are You Missing Some Essential Ingredients in Your Mental System?

By Lanny Bassham

Ok! You’re packing up for your next competition. Do you have everything you need to play well? You make a quick equipment check. Yep, your set up is good and you’ve got all your gear. Let’s look at form next. You’re ready in that department as well. “I wouldn’t change a thing.” You say. “So, why am I still worried about how I’m going to do this weekend? Something’s missing and I don’t know what it is.”

You may be missing the confidence that your mental control system is just as complete as the other parts of your game.

So how do you determine if you have all the parts of your mental system? First you need to find out if you even have a mental system in the first place. So just what is a mental system and what are its ingredients?

A mental system is a defined, practiced method of training the mind to perform well in competition.

I’ll give you an example. The system I use and teach is called the Mental Management^® System.

Mental Management^® is the process of improving the probability of having a consistent mental performance under pressure, on demand. It includes controlling the mental processes that lead to a winning performance.

A winning mental performance, in my opinion, is primarily a function of the development and control of three mental processes; The Conscious Mind – your thoughts, The Subconscious – your skills and the Self Image – your attitudes and habits. The essential ingredients for a winning mental system should include methods to control and enhance your three mental processes.

How will you know if you have a good mental system? First, determine the capabilities of each mental process to determine if they complement each other and are appropriate to your goals and priorities. For example, if you are picturing winning a certain competition (Conscious process), is your skill level (Subconscious process) equal to the task and is it like you (Self Image process) to achieve it? When your mental processes are balanced and working together, a good technical performance seems easy. When balanced you love to play and you play well with little mental effort. If, however, one of these processes is out of balance you will likely find much frustration in your game and you will expend a lot of mental energy just to get through the back nine.

Next I will explain what to do when your conscious, subconscious, and self-image become out of balance.