Every time your laptop, printer or mobile phone stops working normally – what do you do? You turn it off and then on again. We sometimes call that hitting the reset button. It’s amazing how that cleans up the glitches in how things were working.
Have you ever thought of doing that with yourself? At work? At home?
I actually saw that happen, in real time, as I was watching the US Open Golf Tournament this past Sunday. If you don’t follow golf – you will still understand what happened.
Here is the background. The golf course they were playing (Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania) is tough. But, as they do before any pro tournament, they go out of their way, it seems, to make the course even more difficult. They roll the greens (so the ball rolls faster when you putt), they let the grass grow higher in the rough, so if your ball lands there it’s a challenge to get it out. It’s like glue. And then add torrential rains to the mix and it was a nightmare.
So on the last of this 4 day tournament, the top 5 players’ scores were very close. Most of the top-rated players had 3 terrible days of golf, so they were not on the top of the scoreboard.
So, here comes the reset.
The golfer who won the tournament, J.J. Spaun, was interviewed after he won (by 2 only strokes). The interviewer asked him what changed for him after the first 6 holes, where JJ had shot 5 over par. There had been a rain delay of an hour or more. And miraculously, the rest of the 12 holes he played he was like a different player and in fact, he won the tournament with a +2 score for the day.
JJ said (in so many words), “My coach told me to stop trying so hard. He told me to relax and play easy. So, I went into the clubhouse and changed my clothes, shook it off, and went back out there a new person.”
He hit the reset button!
How many times do you get in a rut (at work or home), fill your own head with negative thoughts, predict/expect bad outcomes and that’s exactly what you get?
Ever walked into a client meeting thinking “they aren’t going to give me a big order.” Or walk into your boss’s office for a meeting thinking “They aren’t going to approve my budget or my idea – why am I even here?”
How about hitting that mental reset button?
Coincidentally, my own golf coach suggested this when we were practicing this weekend. Instead of tensing up before I swing the club to hit the ball, she suggested I do a countdown ( 3-2-1) with a deep breath to relax my shoulders before I swing. The change in my accuracy and performance was amazing.
Simply taking a deep breath, counting down (three-two-one) is like a reset.
I’ve actually used this same technique before going into client meetings, or when talking with important people in my life. Maybe it’s a walk around the block, a 5-minute meditation at my desk or just closing my eyes.
I know there is a lot of tension and stress in the world right now, and we all bring it with us (subconsciously) to work and to home. What about doing your own version of a mental reset before you start your day? Turn off the news or that podcast and turn on some relaxing music for those final 10 minutes of your drive.
When you pull into your driveway, turn off your vehicle, sit quietly and breathe in and out, and picture something really enjoyable for 30 seconds before you get out of your car.
We would all benefit from hitting our own mental reset button. Try it!
Onward and upward,
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