Categories: Positive Workplaces

Your Mental Mindset – Wisdom from Professional Golfer Victoria Lovelady

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a woman professional golfer from Brazil by the name of Victoria Lovelady. Apart from having one of the best names of any person on the planet, she also imparted some interesting wisdom to me. It all happened at breakfast one morning, when we started to talk about how she managed to become the top female golfer from Brazil, a world ranked player, and Olympian.

She explained that for many years she struggled to perform when she faced pressure-packed situations in tournament play.

“Whenever the heat was on I would think to myself, ‘OK its crunch time. I really NEED to make this putt. I know I WILL make this putt!’” she said.

“Well that seems like a great mental mindset. The power of positive thinking, right?” I said.

“You would think so…But it really wasn’t working. I couldn’t rise to the occasion consistently,” she said. She then explained how she had started to work with a sports psychologist who encouraged her to shift her perspective in such situations by making some subtle – but significant – changes to her mental routines.

“So my sports psychologist told me to try framing the challenge or situation differently. Instead of ‘I WILL make this putt,’ think ‘I WANT to make this putt,’” she said.

This important change has the effect of shifting our energy from a need to achieve to a desire to achieve. It is a much more positive mindset. By framing the situation differently, we can put less pressure on ourselves, and as a result attain more positive results. This framework helps us maintain our composure in pressure-packed situations where we may find ourselves fighting over sphincter control!

Whether it is a high stakes scenario or day-to-day existence, we have the opportunity to shift our mindset.

Could you shift your mindset to get more positive results? Could you make a mental shift in your relationships, with the work that you do, or the goals you want to achieve?

We can bring this to light in many aspects of our life.

We all have the opportunity to shift our perspective and better tap our inner potential. Try it for yourself!

Meg Soper is a motivational keynote speaker who can help your audience learn to take on daily stressors, get inspired to reach their goals, and laugh along the journey. Get in touch with Meg today!

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Meg Soper

Meg Soper is a leading motivational humorist for organizations in North America. Her unique perspective combines the insights and experiences of her last thirty years spent as a Registered Nurse, stand-up comedian, and ultimately a motivational speaker. Meg has co-authored two books and appeared on the CBC Television network, Women’s Television network, and Prime TV as well as on radio and at comedy festivals.