This week I want to share a video about playing golf, confidence and backing yourself. If you are a person that goes straight to the video in these posts, this time I suggest you read what I have to say first.

In the video, I’m about to tee off on the 15th hole at Bermagui Golf Course where you need to hit it over a huge body of water. I have sacrificed many a golf ball to that water!

So many that each time I got to this hole, I would put away my preferred red golf ball and pull out a crappy old one. My thinking was that if I hit it in the water at least I didn’t lose a good golf ball as well as a stroke.

What I Found

What I found however was two things:

1. If I hit the ball clear of the water, I would be glad of the shot but disappointed that I didn’t back myself. I spend a lot of my career coaching people on backing themselves on far bigger things than the potential to lose a golf ball.
2. If I hit the ball into the water, I would immediately be glad I swapped to a crappy old ball. But then I would think that maybe by swapping to the old ball, I was telling myself I wasn’t confident. Thoughts become your words, words become your actions, actions become your… that sort of thing.

I think we do this in business as well. We commit to something but don’t REALLY fully commit. And I wonder if that little bit of self-doubt means we don’t achieve what we are aiming for.

Back Yourself

So, the last time I played this whole, I decided NOT to swap to an old ball. I backed myself and hit the good red ball. I asked my husband to film it and made a promise to myself that I was going to post this regardless of the outcome.

Now you can watch the video above to see the result.

It’s your turn to share. Is taking some precautionary actions so you don’t lose too much a good thing? Or should you just totally back yourself?