1% Changes Each Day?
Competition by definition is the activity or condition of competing; an event or contest in which people compete; and the opposition with whom one is competing. Stimulus by definition is a thing that rouses activity, or energy in someone or something; a spur or incentive; a thing or event that evokes a specific functional reaction.
It is old news, but we all compete each day. It might be at business, on the golf course, or even with our health; but we are all competing. Often times it is the stimulus of the possibility of the products that could be sold, or the trophy that could be won, or the MRI that shows something abnormal that spurs our energy level and rouses activity.
It is a sad, sad truth that most golfers are always reacting to the stimulus of competition. Every one is happy, happy, happy until about a week before the tournament. That tight shoulder or aching back is just fine two weeks out from the tournament. That ball “over cutting a little” on the range twenty one days out from the tournament is barely even paid attention to. The chair and couch are just way to inviting to skill build or get down on the floor and build a bit of function in that body. So we wait….and wait….pushing back the movement and energy until the stimulus gets close and then we react.
Thanks to video and launch monitor technology I have numerical and visual data that supports the statements above. Doctors and physical therapist have the same data concerning the health of an individual. Dentists and Accountants do to for that matter. From a golf performance standpoint, champions are simply people that decided to get better 1% (so to speak) each day.
A decision should be made, are we going to react to the stimulus or are we going to be pro-active in our march toward our goals. The difference is tough to see after a day, a month, or even six months. The difference begins to be visible only after a long period; my data supports the idea of a year or more. But the difference that could barely be noticed each day has grown into a difference so vast and great that anyone could see it. Just to prove it to yourself, YouTube the early swings of those playing at The Masters this week and compare them to the motions you are witnessing now in that sea of green called Augusta National.
Go be great……..1% each day.