How To Use Thinking To Your Advantage

Thinking. It is inherent in all we do. Sometimes it even feels like who we are. But on the disc golf course thinking has a tendency to get in the way. Critical thinking can help us visualize a flight path but excess thinking can leave us confused. The less we think and the more we feel with awareness the better. No matter your skill level it is always best to drop into your body and feel the process. Thinking too much will only add complications to your game. Disc golf already has enough challenges as it is! Let’s take a look at how to use thinking to your advantage.

Thinking vs. Feeling

The best way to use thinking in disc golf is to use it sparingly. Feeling is the best way to think. I know that sounds extremely esoteric but when one goes by feeling there is a confidence inherent in your actions. Imagine picking a disc for your next drive. Think about when you go with your “gut feeling.” There is a confidence that something deeper is at play. Something inside knows. From this space many possibilities open. Now think about analyzing this shot with thought. Yes, it is certainly useful to think about the line you wish to throw and the obstacles between you and where you want your disc to land. However, it is best to use a combination of minimal thought paired with your gut feeling.

When we do use thinking to analyze a shot, think with positive reinforcement. This sometimes presents itself when we have obstacles in our way. For example, when there is a lake where your disc may land, look at the area where you DO want to land. The thought process should go something like this; “I want to land in the landing zone to the left side of the lake. That will leave me with an easy upshot.” This leaves your mind state simple and clear. There is confidence knowing where you want to land instead of the opposite, which in my mind will typically sound like this; “Oh no there’s a lake off to the right. I don’t want to throw it there. Anywhere but there. I am already having a rough round and that would be the worst.”

We all do it. Our minds have a tendency to think of the worst and then try to avoid that outcome. We are literally wired to think that way through the earliest development of our reptilian brain. But we have the power to let go of this thought pattern. The key is not to resist this way of thinking but rather to simply not engage with it. Allow thoughts to fade into the background and drop into the body. Let’s look at when settling into the body reaches its pinnacle.

Flow State

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a professor of psychology and coined the term “flow” in 1975. This term is used interchangeably with the term “being in the zone” in sport. Wikipedia defines “flow” as follows; “The mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one’s sense of time.”

Whew, this is quite the state to try to attain for a round of disc golf. But let’s unpack how thinking is applied to the flow state. To be “fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus” is much more of the body than of the mind. Of course, the mind is used. But it takes a back seat to what the body already knows. This may be hard to do when one is just learning the sport. This is understandable. But the body has a wonderful memory when we get out of the way and trust the process.

Phil Jackson was the coach of the legendary Chicago Bulls teams of the late 90’s. He is known for his unique coaching style in which he instills a focus on awareness instead of thinking. Jackson said of his coaching style; “Awareness is everything. The secret is not thinking. That doesn’t mean being stupid. It means quieting the endless jabbering of thoughts so that your body can do instinctively what it’s been trained to do without the mind getting in the way.”

I’m not sure if Phil Jackson has ever thrown a disc in his life but he points to the heart of athletic achievement with this comment. We perform our best when we get out of our own way. On a basketball court one must play and react up and down the court for an extended period of time amongst other players. Disc golf is different in that it is an individual sport played on a piece of natural earth in which the player is in complete control. We only have short periods of time where we need to focus.

15 Seconds of Focus

The best mental habit to develop in disc golf is concentration for 15 seconds at a time. Before your shot, slow everything down and FEEL. Let the thoughts roll into the background as you settle into the body and allow confidence to trickle in. Do this before every shot and see how your approach feels. Then let that disc fly and move on!

Throughout a round the disc is only in the air for a matter of a few minutes. You may only throw the disc 50 times and the disc is in flight for a matter of seconds for each shot. This means that there is only a matter of minutes where you truly need to focus in disc golf. This makes your mental state extremely important as to your consistency. Get out of your own way and who knows, maybe someday you’ll find your flow state and settle into the zone! May we all be so lucky.