What are your golfing goals?  This is one of the questions I ask every client I coach.  The most common answer is to become more consistent.  For many, this could be consistently poor!  Who wants that?  Wouldn’t you rather want to get better?

Surely anyone who says “I want to be good” is displaying ambition, provided of course they are prepared to back up their desire with action.

There is a distinct difference in the mindset and motivation between people who want to be good versus those who want to get better.  Those who want to be good, usually have proving their worth or ability to themselves and others as a primary motivator.  They think things like: if I can just get my handicap down to … then I’ll feel more accepted or worthy of playing with my mates (who happen to be very good players).

Those who want to get better are focussed on continually developing their abilities and becoming better in the process.  They are more likely to set goals which will stretch them and want to continually learn.  They seek out opportunities to play with really good players as they can learn from them.  They take on challenges in competition and ask quality questions, then act on the advice they are given.

Often those who want to be good are reluctant to really take the steps outside their comfort zone that will make them better.

There is tremendous satisfaction in working to continually improve, acknowledging your improvement and striving for more.  The journey is more pleasurable and every new learning experience is exciting.

Is your mindset one of wanting to be good or wanting to get better?