Do you treat yourself like a winner? Clients answer this question 85% of the time with a “Sometimes” or “Not often”. For many, winning the top prize is the ultimate indicator of a winner. The prize in golf might be winning a major, winning several majors, leading the money list and for some it’s simply having the opportunity to play on the PGA Tour. These are just a few ways to label a winner but what about all the other possibilities? Does the fact that someone doesn’t win the big prize mean they are not “winners”?

The truth is, there are many great athletes who have excelled in their sport for years and have not won a championship. The NHL’s Marcel Dionne and the NFL’s Dick Butkus, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino are just a few examples. Winning championships is not the sole determiner of whether someone is a winner or not.

Many of my clients don’t feel like winners because they set their expectations at such a high and inappropriate level that feeling like a “winner” is difficult. As a result of these high and often unrealistic expectations they feel disappointed and frustrated more than anything else. Winning is an inside job and it always has been because how you feel about yourself can be enhanced but never replaced by a great shot, great round or great money.

Here are 4 things you can do to trigger the winner within:

1. Feel good first

People who feel like winners know how to feel like winners before they play a round of golf or ever win anything. They feel good about themselves as individuals and take this feeling into whatever they do. They are able to separate performance confidence from personal confidence. Feeling good is a choice and is not predicated on anything else.

2. Don’t let outcomes dictate your self worth

Winners realize they are not their outcomes. Many of my clients feel frustrated because they actually think they are their outcomes. If the outcomes are good; they feel good. If the outcomes are “bad” they feel “bad”. This makes playing a round of golf (or anything else) very difficult and certainly not much fun. For some, a bad shot is immediately turned into “I’m a bad golfer” which then turns into “I’m bad”. When it gets personal it is more difficult to change. You are not your golf shots.

3. Recover quickly

Winners know how to recover quickly when things aren’t going their way. Rather than make excuses and blame others, they know they are responsible for what they think, feel and do on the golf course. It is very difficult to recover quickly when we blame others for our circumstances. You are the resource for your solutions.

4. Appreciate the big picture

Winners don’t get stuck on one shot, hole or round because they appreciate the journey they are part of. They understand that the journey will bring ups, downs, waves and obstacles as a natural part of the process. This appreciation creates an inner sense of well-being because they know that situations will come and go and therefore they don’t have to be “stuck” on any of them. Chip Beck, who endured several years of frustration and disappointment never took his eyes off the big picture. Through all the ups and downs, the struggle and the sacrifice, the big picture was never far away. Now, Chip is enjoying the fruits of his labor on the Champions Tour!

Do you feel like a winner today?

David Breslow is a national speaker, author and Performance Coach. His book, “Wired To Win” is available at 888.280.7715. His clients include professional athletes (PGA, LPGA, other sports) as well as Business Organizations. He brings a fresh, direct, no-nonsense revolutionary approach to unleashing Human Performance helping people make quicker and more powerful shifts in attitude, behavior and action. His articles are read by over 400,000 people per month on The Golf Channel website and David frequently speaks to organizations of all sizes who want to create real shifts in how people, think, feel and perform every day. For more info on E-Books, Free Monthly TeleSeminars, One on One Coaching and Presentations; please visit: www.theflowzone.net, email: david@theflowzone.net or call: 847.681.1698