Many people would say they aren't that angry - but when we're honest most of us will benefit from learning to be calmer - whether it's at home, at work, in the car, over the weather, the financial climate... and of course on the golf course! Read on to learn why it's important for you to stay calm.
Anger is bad for your health
We know that it's not great for us to be angry. But sometimes we need to be reminded that it can have negative impact on our health before we change our behaviour.
For example, just by making angry facial expressions your heartbeat goes up by about 10-12 beats. Similarly it's been shown that getting angry can depress your immune system.
Anger is bad for your golf
Have you ever told someone about a very funny comedian you saw, but found that you couldn't remember any of their jokes? We don't always remember what people said, but we remember how they made us feel.
This is because:
a) We have to find a way to manage huge amounts of information, so it is easier to generalise about situations, than it is to remember the details.
b) Everything we do is driven by our desire to feel a certain way. We do things for emotional reasons, not intellectual ones. So we are conditioned to remember situations where we have experienced strong emotions, but we do so in a generalised way.
Your action steps
In golfing terms this means that you want to be selective about how you react to your shots. If you react angrily to a missed putt, then it will stay in your mind for much longer than if you accept it.
So reserve your emotional moments for the good shots that you want more of! You know those short putts that you expect yourself to get, but occasionally miss?
Generally we become angry when we miss them and brood about them for the next few holes, but we hardly ever remember them when they go in. Rather than getting upset about the misses, start celebrating the ones you get - even on the putting green. This will help to build up a good feeling around them and you'll miss a lot less.
Anger is bad for your health
We know that it's not great for us to be angry. But sometimes we need to be reminded that it can have negative impact on our health before we change our behaviour.
For example, just by making angry facial expressions your heartbeat goes up by about 10-12 beats. Similarly it's been shown that getting angry can depress your immune system.
Anger is bad for your golf
Have you ever told someone about a very funny comedian you saw, but found that you couldn't remember any of their jokes? We don't always remember what people said, but we remember how they made us feel.
This is because:
a) We have to find a way to manage huge amounts of information, so it is easier to generalise about situations, than it is to remember the details.
b) Everything we do is driven by our desire to feel a certain way. We do things for emotional reasons, not intellectual ones. So we are conditioned to remember situations where we have experienced strong emotions, but we do so in a generalised way.
Your action steps
In golfing terms this means that you want to be selective about how you react to your shots. If you react angrily to a missed putt, then it will stay in your mind for much longer than if you accept it.
So reserve your emotional moments for the good shots that you want more of! You know those short putts that you expect yourself to get, but occasionally miss?
Generally we become angry when we miss them and brood about them for the next few holes, but we hardly ever remember them when they go in. Rather than getting upset about the misses, start celebrating the ones you get - even on the putting green. This will help to build up a good feeling around them and you'll miss a lot less.
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