“How do I get better at disc golf when I don’t have time to practice?”
I started listening to the Disc Golf Answer Man podcast long before I ever had the opportunity to be on it. From the beginning, I’ve heard this question in various forms at least once an episode. If you keep up with any disc golf forums, you’ll see it there too. Heck, I see this question everywhere in life.
In today’s world of “hacking” everything around us, everyone is looking for the short cut. We all want that one tip or trick that’s going to make life easier for us. Don’t believe me? Check the headlines you see on TV or the inter webs…
“Lose 10 pounds with the cheesecake diet!”
“Earn 6 figures by sitting on your couch!”
“10 ways to get a promotion without doing any work!”
Everyone wants to know how to get great results without actually putting in the effort to get them. Welcome to 2015, right?
First, let’s “keep it real”, as Bobby Brown would say on the DGAM podcast.
You’re never going to get results you don’t work for. Yes, there is the oddball person out there to whom everything comes easy. Unfortunately that person isn’t you or me. No amount of shortcuts or hacks is going to change that.
The truth of the matter is, if you want to get significantly better at disc golf, you have to make the time to practice. Sure, we can make some progress by just playing a lot. But not as much as we’d like to convince ourselves we can.
If you play regularly, in a few years you’ll look back and realize that yes, you have improved. But you’ll also look at some of the people you play with and realize that they spent the same amount of time getting in some real, significant practice. Now they whup you every time you play them. They out drive you. They out putt you. They play in a higher division in tournaments.
Here’s where we need to back up a step and start being brutally honest with ourselves. We need to look in the mirror and answer a couple questions. First…
Get better at putting? Throw your drive further? Win a tournament? Beat that unbeatable friend? Move up a division? Shoot a 950 rated round?
Take a minute and think about what they are for you.
Be specific and detailed.
Now ask yourself this question…
In other words does what you are doing match what you are saying? That’s called integrity. That’s also called being honest with yourself. There’s and old saying, “I see your lips moving, but your actions are speaking so loudly I can’t hear what’s coming out of your mouth.”
Did you say you want to get better at putting but you never practice putting? Did you say you want longer drives but you never do any field work? Did you say you want to lose weight but all you eat is cheesecake? Life doesn’t let you have it both ways. You have to pick one.
It’s like Mr. Miyagi said in the Karate Kid:
“Walk on left side of road, safe. Walk on right side of road, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later get squish, just like grape.”
In other words if you’re committed to disc golf, be committed. Let your actions reflect that. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to make time to practice when you are truly all in.
If you aren’t, that’s cool too. There are a lot of people out there for whom the idea of practice is a lot more appealing than actually practicing. Deep inside, they’d rather be watching TV. There is no wrong answer.
That’s where the title of this post comes from.
Disc golf practice isn’t for everyone. Some people really should just blow it off and watch TV instead. It’s more in line with their values and they’ll be happier too. No one ever said disc golf needed to turn into work. In my opinion, the first priority for every disc golfer should be to have fun. When it stops being fun, you’re doing it wrong.
[tweetthis display_mode=”box”]The first priority in #discgolf is to have fun.[/tweetthis]
This also helps answer the question of how you get better at disc golf without practicing.
You don’t.
But if you hurry I think the new episode of the Walking Dead is just about to start. I hear that show is pretty awesome.
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