Issue 9
Quote of the month
"The more I focus, the less I worry about pressure.”
~
Nick Price- 3 time major winner
Take AIM principle of the month
The Take AIM system for optimal performance came from working with athletes and business professionals who were seeking improved performance. What I found was that these individuals had the "physical skills" to perform at the highest level; they lacked the mental and emotional skills to apply their skills under pressure. This system will benefit the golfer both on and off the golf course.
Each month I will introduce you to the key principles of the Take AIM system. This month we are going to cover IMPLEMENT. To implement a new skill is making a decision that a skill needs to be upgraded. So many professionals want better results, but are unwilling to make changes. They are hoping that the environment changes to match their skills, instead of changing their skills to deal with the ever changing environment. I wrote in my blog that a lot of business books constantly write about how to change others in the company to achieve the company’s goals. The problem with this theory is that the supervisor/leader never assesses his or her own skills, and if these skills meet the challenges. It is easy to look outside of oneself to blame for poor results. The true champion takes responsibility for the results and looks first at what he is doing and then what his support system is doing. This is an ‘in to out’ approach of implementation. Do what is needed for your performance to get better before you ask others to change their skills.
Implementation is a consistent practice. Be careful that your old patterns of behavior get in the way of implementing new skills. So often business professionals have good intentions in implementing a new plan and find resistance the first day because of our ingrained habits of doing what they have always done. Getting excited about putting a new skill to work is half the battle. The other half is catching yourself falling back to old habits. Be aware of your pattern and use cue words like “change” to alert you to make the shift. With any skill the more you practice the better you will get. Ultimately performance will improve when you “own” the new skill and don’t have to think about it.
Think about a skill or habit that has been challenging for you to implement. Get excited about the change and see the benefit of making such a change. At first you will be training yourself to change and stick with it so you will soon master the skill.
Product of the Month
My long awaited book Golf: The Ultimate Mind Game was just released by Advantage Media. In this book I have synthesized my 20 years of experience both playing and coaching golf into an easy to read plan to improve your mental and emotional skills on the golf course. I write about the many tools and techniques that I learned from both playing and earning my doctorate degree in Applied Sports Psychology. If you want to play great golf now, order at www.RickSessinghaus.com. 
What Rick is up to
Rick will be featured on www.GolfTipsmag.com in the video tips section talking about how to deal with greens like those experienced at the Masters.
Rick will be giving several mental game seminars at indoor facilities in Southern California in March and April. For further information please email me at RickS@RickSessinghaus.com.
Who is Rick Sessinghaus
Rick is a peak performance expert. He is a member of the PGA and earned his Doctorate degree in Applied Sports Psychology. Rick specializes in improving the performance of athletes, executives, and businesses through his coaching and speaking programs. His unique programs allow the client to apply Rick's system and receive immediate results. Check out how Rick can help you at www.RickSessinghaus.com.
Email to a friend who would benefit from performance information.