Read Those Motivational Books

Sometimes people need a little extra boost of motivation to help them achieve certain goals. Having a coach or parent try to motivate you all the time is not enough so turning to experts in your field might be just what you need. It certainly helped me.

I am in the golf field, it is rather easy to get down on yourself when you don’t perform how well you know you can. A second of doubt can take months to recover from and while parents, coaches, and friends may help to some degree, an expert might be just what you need to gain that self-confidence back.

I certainly didn’t have the money to go see a professional sports psychologist or a therapist and I am not a fan of talking about my feelings and emotions to complete strangers anyway so actually talking to a professional was not a viable option for me. I turned to another strategy. Books.

Having books to read helped me set a routine for every day, I would do what I needed to throughout the day but when the evening rolled around I would sit down with a cup of tea and read a few chapters. Taking your time reading is much more beneficial than finishing the book within a few days or a week. It gave time for the information to sink in and for me to develop strategies and to figure an approach to incorporate what was written into my daily life. Having a routine or a checklist of what you need to do every day is a very effective way to settle your mind and create a balance in life.

What I learnt reading was that golf is a lot like life, you can experience many emotions in such a short amount of time, many of these books taught me not to worry about the past but not to concentrate too much on the future either; just focus on the present. Focusing on the present will not allow your brain to wander into the field of what ifs, which is a very dangerous place for anyone to be. If you are focusing on what might happen and not what is happening, the result will likely not be very favourable towards you and your goals. Therefore, being able to employ strategies to deal with pressure or stressful situations is an ideal way to make sure the present situation is positive to what you are trying to achieve in the long run.

Everyone should set goals, no matter how big or small. They give things to strive for and to have a purpose. Many of my goals are golf related but I review them and set new ones frequently. I believe setting a lot of short-term goals will make your long-term goals seem so much more achievable. Many of my golf goals have helped me in the real world, whether this be dealing with a negative outcome, or handling stressful situations.

Finding a trustworthy author may be a quick process or a rather lengthy one, I believe to trust what an author is saying you must try the strategies they suggest and if those strategies end up working, stick with that author, if they have published numerous books. I am currently reading my 4th book by the same author and I consider and trust everything he says.

I truly believe everyone should be reading motivational books, or self-help books. I started reading them to help with my sporting career but they have helped with my personal life in ways I never expected them to. They are much cheaper than going to see a therapist or sports psychologist and you can take their words with you wherever you go, just in case you ever need a reminder.