The List

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the

other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a

space between each name.

Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say

about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the

remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as

the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on

a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said

about that individual.

On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the

entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never

knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others

liked me so much," were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew

if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it

didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The

students were happy with themselves and one another. That group

of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam

and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She

had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He

looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who

loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the

last one. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as

pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's maths teacher?" he

asked. She nodded: "Yes." Then he said: "Mark talked about you a

lot."

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together

to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously

waiting to speak with his teacher.

"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet

out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed.

We thought you might recognise it."

Opening the wallet, he carefully removed two worn pieces of

notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded

many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were

the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of

Mark's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you

can see, Mark treasured it."

All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie

smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in

the top drawer of my desk at home."

Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding

album."

"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary." Then Vicki,

another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her

wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I

carry this with me at all times," Vicki said and without batting

an eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists."

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for

Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that

life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will

be. So treat each day like it will be THAT day.

-- Author Unknown

Mental Golf

A prerequisite to improving your golf game will be goal setting.  This is where you tell your brain which direction it is going. You must set goals that will push your mind and body beyond its normal limits. You can accomplish whatever you really desire. Do not listen to those little voices of doubt in the back of your mind.

Decide where you want your golf game to improve. This is the time to get passionate! Let yourself dream of already accomplishing your goal.

Most people fail to goal set because they are afraid of failure. They want to avoid pain. Some are afraid of success. Learn to associate pleasure with goal setting, and link massive pain to not reaching your goal. Don’t let life pass you by. Nobody ever won on a sure bet. When you have a goal that excites you, every cell in your body becomes turbo charged! You will become obsessed, and nothing will be able to steer you from achieving your goal.

Make a picture of your goal in your mind. See every detail unfolding as if it were a motion picture. What will you see? What will you hear? What will you feel? What will you smell? Who will be present? It is imperative that your goals are stated in a positive format. An example of this would be: I want to win the company golf tournament, and set a new course record.

As opposed to: I don’t want to finish second place an out of the money.

Try to insure that all your goal outcomes are in your control. Do not become to dependent on others to reach your goal. Encouragement is good, but never let anyone interfere with unleashing all your untapped energy toward your goal.

Next, set a time and place where your goal will be accomplished. Don not let anything side track you from sticking to this time frame.

If possible, try to visualize any barriers that may stand in the way of you reaching your goal. Be prepared for the worst even though it probably won’t happen. Be very honest with yourself. If you run into a barrier, plow through it. Remember – link massive pain to not working through a barrier.

Decide where you are at the present time. What will be needed in the way of mentors, equipment, etc? Start to chart a road map that will lead you to success. Chart short, medium, and long-term goals to keep you on track. Know what needs to be done on a daily basis. Don’t waste time, because it is a precious commodity. Always stay focused!

Create a 15 Second Goal Mission Statement to help you stay focused on your goal. Include as much detail as possible about achieving your goal. Commit this statement to memory, and repeat it upon wakening and before retiring to sleep.

Try to feel as if you were actually achieving your goal. An example of a Goal Mission Statement would be: I’m at Augusta National on the 18^th hole. I am putting for a birdie that will insure me a victory at the Masters Tournament. I feel very confident and energized. After repeating your Goal Mission Statement, you should feel flooded with energy, and excitement. If you don’t maybe you have picked the wrong goal. Take your time with goal setting, because it will allow you to build a powerful mental foundation for life.

Auto-Diagramming

Golfers are capable of exhibiting multiple emotions. These emotions can be positive, or they may be negative in nature. Learning to communicate such feelings with your inner, (subconscious) mind will be quite helpful in reaching your goals.

Diagramming will uncover many facets of your life. It can show you that your future goals can be effected by past coaches, books, sports, people, etc.

This type of goal setting is not only productive, but is fun to perform. One thing will lead you to another. Some things will not appear to make sense immediately. Relax, and move your mind to another area of the diagram. Do not become critical of yourself. You can do no wrong here. Let the inner you take over.

Now go to a quite place where you will not be disturbed for the next 20 to 30 minutes. You will need a pencil, and a piece of paper. It’s time to construct your Auto-Diagramming Blueprint.

Diagramming Your Goal

1.Bring to mind a goal you would like to accomplish in the next 6 weeks. Make sure it is goal that really excites you.

2.Write your goal in the center of the paper and put a circle around it.

3.Now close your eyes, and relax for a few moments. Ask your inner mind to give you suggestions on how to reach this goal. This may seem a bit esoteric, but the answer you receive will amaze you.

4.Now open your eyes, and write down the first thing that comes to your mind. Put a circle around it and draw a line connecting it to your goal.

5.Please look at diagram 1-1. This person’s goal was to break 80 over 18 holes. Notice the many facets they have blended together. They equate breaking “80” as being fun, in control, and very enjoyable. Some of the things you will diagram will have a direct effect on your physical training, but keep in mind that our main goal here is developing mental toughness.

Past experience has shown us that the more clearly we can define our goals the more chance they will have of becoming a reality. Our will to win will be strengthened. This will directly influence our strength, coordination, balance, and endurance.

It takes about 2-3 seconds to swing a golf club, but keep in mind that your body and mind will process over 90 bits of information during this time.

After completing your Auto-Diagramming Blueprint. Put it in a place where you will be able to see it on a daily basis. The more you review your goal – the deeper it sinks into your inner mind. Make a habit of reading your Goal Blueprint upon wakening, and again at bedtime.

The Perfect Mistake

My Mother's father worked as a carpenter. On this particular day,
he was building some crates for the clothes his church was
sending to orphanages in China. On his way home, he reached into
his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. When he
mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what had
happened; the glasses had slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and
fallen into one of the crates, which he had nailed shut. His
brand new glasses were heading for China!

The Great Depression was at its height and Grandpa had six
children. He had spent $20 for those glasses that very morning.
He was really upset by the thought of having to buy another pair.
"It's not fair," he told God as he drove home in frustration.
"I've been very faithful in giving of my time and money to your
work, and now this."

Months later, the director of the orphanage was on furlough in
the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that
supported him in China, so he came to speak one Sunday at my
grandfather's small church in Chicago.

The missionary began by thanking the people for their
faithfulness in supporting the orphanage. "But most of all," he
said, "I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You
see, the Communists had just swept through the orphanage,
destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate.
Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing
those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I
experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were much
in prayer about this. Then your crates arrived. When my staff
removed the covers, they found a pair of glasses wedged between
two blankets.

The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then,
still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued: "Folks,
when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been
custom made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of
that."

The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But the
missionary surely must have confused their church with another,
they thought. There were no glasses on their list of items to be
sent overseas. But sitting quietly in the back, with tears
streaming down his face, an ordinary carpenter realized the
Master Carpenter had used him in an extraordinary way.

There are times we want to blame God instead of thanking him!
Perhaps it is something we ought to try more often, "Thank you,
God, for not allowing my car to start this morning." He may have
been saving your life from a car accident. "Lord Jesus, thank you
for letting me lose my glasses; I'm sure they'll be put to good
use or there is a lesson to be learned."

I have to remember this in these times of trial with my own
family.

May GOD bless your week. Look for the perfect mistakes.

God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory
by Christ Jesus. - Phil 4:19

-- Author Unknown

Thoughts To Ponder?

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller
buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower
viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy
it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences,
but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more
knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems;
more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh
too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up
too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much,
and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We
talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned
how to make a living, but not a life; We've added years to life,
not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble
crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered
outer space, but not inner space; We've done larger things, but
not better things; We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the
soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice; we write more,
but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned
to rush, but not to wait; We have higher incomes, but lower
morals; We have more food, but less appeasement; We build more
computers to hold more information to produce more copies than
ever, but have less communication; We've become long on quantity,
but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men,
and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships.
These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more
leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier
houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips,
disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands,
overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to
quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in
the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to
you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference,
or just turn the page...

-- Author Unknown