The Visual Golfer Succeeds in Life, too - Walker Simas

Since we're not (yet) fully immersed in the podcast world, there are times when I find myself short on purely golf experiences to share with you. Embracing this, I recently delved into my journal entries from this year, searching for consistent themes to explore together today. Strangely enough, the standout theme has been visualization.

A few months back, I stumbled upon an enlightening snippet from Chris Paul’s interview with Rich Roll. He spoke about the power of consistency, complete dedication to one's process, and the concept of 'stacking days.' This brought to mind a timeless favorite from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations:

'So you were born to feel “nice”? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands? You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you.'

Given that I'm not a therapist, let's take an unconventional route and use golf as the crowbar to pry open this discussion. As a golfer–as a human–you've likely witnessed the profound impact visualization can have. It reveals visualization as a prerequisite to execution, a task that begs for consistency. Ultimately, through repetition, good visualization encourages seeing your life’s pursuits as creativity in practice. 

Visualization as a Prerequisite to Execution

We must be able to point out the thing that we want. For you, that could be breaking ninety, or eighty. It could be playing a round without a double bogey or three-putting. In golf and in sports at large, we talk about execution so frequently. Rarely, though, do we discuss the thought behind what we’re looking to execute. 

Whether a long term goal to improve or a single golf shot, we must be able to point out- to visualize- what we are looking to execute on. Reflecting on that disgusting little pitch that Rory hit at the Ryder Cup, was that not the definition of reacting to a visualization? 

Repetitions: Where? When? How? How Often?

To execute, we must have something to execute on. So how do we do that? Like anything else, the answer is in the reps. Unlike breathwork, which produces a near immediate result of clarity, visualization might have the toughest barrier of entry. What I love about these exercises (tools) is that none of us can make excuses. If you have nothing except yourself, you have all the necessary ingredients to take part in these exercises. 

Setting is everything, isn’t it? Where we take time to be purposeful with our breath, our thoughts, and our imagination over time does have an impact on how we face obstacles we see often. For that reason, I find two very different settings to be helpful for this practice.

Setting 1: Purposefully Controlled Environment
Take 5 mitutes during your day to flush out some thoughts on paper regarding an obstacle, a theme, a decision, or a circumstance you’re faced with. Set a purpose for the exercise of visualization in this controlled environment; lying down, dark room, no interruptions, etc. Let someone take you through a guided exercise like Yoga Nidra, a 15-50 minute non-sleep deep rest visualization exercise of your choice. 

This is your time to focus on an outcome that you can quantify. For me during marathon training, it can be visualizing race day on December 9th. I could use that time to commit to a purpose, to deepen my repetitions focusing on that purpose, to visualize how I want to overcome adversity through that race, or visualize the feeling of completion knowing I gave training my all. In reality, when the race is completed, not only will I look back on my training and be proud of the miles I put in, but the attention I put into being ready for those training days against the obstacles. 

Though this is the example I’m most focused on, this practice should fit any form you like. You could take this opportunity to simply visualize your day, or go much much deeper in your practice. The beauty is that there are no limits to your imagination. 

Setting 2: Purposefully Uncontrolled Environment
I don't know about you, but I’m always on a roll- not always good ones though. Everything seems to be one ginormous feedback loop, whether positive or negative. For that reason, one of the most helpful exercises for me has been the daily act of reinforcement in the very tasks I promised myself I would do. 

Think of a place where you have to be often to get to your goals. Your office, where your performance feeds and supports your loved ones. The gym, which feeds your physical and mental health. The kitchen, where you find nourishment and spend time with your family. 

In these moments, this is the perfect time to take action, leaning into the distractions, and visualizing yourself showing up with full effort and intensity. If you’re at the office, visualize yourself arriving tomorrow. From a bird's eye view, how would you like to see yourself move throughout your morning? If you’re at the gym, visualize yourself arriving tomorrow. Picture what sort of effort and intensity you bring towards your tasks. If you’re at home having dinner with your family, visualize yourself there again tomorrow. Picture what fully showing up looks like. 

These don't have to be, and shouldn't be, formalized practices. Moreso, they should be opportunities to think differently about the future, gain reps, and learn how to generate positive feedback loops. 

Repetitions: Why? See your pursuits as creativity in practice. 

One of the many reasons I love golf is because of the instant feedback, but also the cadence of a round. Those who don’t play can’t comprehend what sorts of inputs go into a 68, or a 78, or an 88. Just the same, tournament golf is especially powerful because you are judged on those numbers, and every stroke matters over the course of many rounds. Our lives are just the same. 

I often think about miss patterns when comparing this to my golf game. The reason professional golfers are so good is that not only are they better at understanding the problem and answering the question, but they are also informed by their miss patterns and are disciplined in how they factor that into their decisions. 

So, in regard to reps, what can we learn from the pro’s? Well, they get a ton of accurate feedback AND they put themselves in positions to learn from that feedback and do better next time. 

Moving away from golf, will you get better by jellyfishing around, floating in the currents of life? Maybe, but by happenstance. Instead, what happens if you are diligent about choosing a direction, maintaining your focus on your bearings, and ensuring daily commitment towards showing up to row towards it?

An artist is someone who practices creativity. Therefore, if you take creativity and imagination towards your goals, you are an artist just the same. All art requires visualization. And in the words of Dr. Bob Rotella “So go be an artist”. 

In Conclusion: 

Repeating these visualization exercises helps a lot. It's like practicing your routine or golf swing; the more you do it, the better you get. We can practice visualization in two ways—doing it in a quiet, controlled space or doing it on the fly while dealing with everyday tasks. 

These visualization practices teach us to see our goals as an art form too. Just like golfers learn from their mistakes and patterns, we can learn from our experiences. Professionals get better by paying attention to their mistakes and working on getting better next time. In life, it's similar—choosing a direction and sticking to it, even when things get tough.

So, in a way, we're all creatives taking thoughts and using them to reach our goals is an art form too. It's a bit like what Dr. Bob Rotella says—just go out there and be an artist. Keep visualizing, keep practicing, keep seeking your nature, and keep creating your meaningful life. 

Cheers,

WS

thetiegolfpodcast@gmail.com