Trusting the Process: Lessons from Dr. Bob Rotella
What does it mean to put consistent effort forward without making effort contingent on instant results? Put another way: what does it mean to trust the process?
In many ways, this is a fundamental question of coaching and a topic I expect to return to often in my writing. But for today, I’ll turn to the wisdom of premier golf sports psychologist, Bob Rotella (“Dr.Bob”), and lessons from his book “How Champions Think.”
Dr.Bob talks about setting practice goals and performance goals:
Practice goals are exactly that - consistently committing to practice and putting in the work necessary to reach an end goal.
Performance goals are commitments to how we think and behave during competition such as staying present in the moment, trusting our skills, or accepting what happens as it happens.
He says that the great golfers he works with do not judge themselves on winning or losing. Rather, they measure themselves against hitting practice and performance goals. If they do that, they can walk off the course knowing that they gave it their best regardless of the outcome.
Dr.Bob got me thinking: How often are we measuring ourselves on progress against the end result before we’ve really committed to our own practice and performance goals? How often do we expect results on an expedited timeline?
When we’re too attached to the result, the usual suspects show up: stress, overwhelm, trying to prove something, working to avoid disaster. Fear starts to run the show.
Today, I invite you to try on something different and set your own practice and performance goals:
What effort will you make towards your goals for an extended period of time, regardless of the outcome?
How do you want to be about it? What goals will you set for how you react when obstacles come up or things don’t go as planned?
What goals will you set around trusting your skills and yourself?
The knee jerk reaction is to ask: How long do you keep at it before you throw in the towel? When is it time to quit?
Here’s what Dr.Bob says to the athletes confronting the question of continuing on or walking away from their dreams:
“...are you sure you’ve honored your commitment? By that, I mean to ask whether the client has done what they set out to do, which is to make the strongest possible effort to become as good as they can be by creating and fulfilling performance and preparation processes. Have they been living it? Or have they been half hearted? Have they played with belief in themselves, or have they failed to build the confidence that would enable them to find their potential? If the answer to either of those questions is no, then I think it’s premature for an individual to evaluate themselves and give up.”
Most of us might not be setting out to win the Masters, a Super Bowl, or an NBA championship but we are the champions of our own lives and the champions of our own dreams.
When I talk about goals, I don’t mean things you think you should do or feel like an obligation. I mean the things that light you up, that represent steps towards the things you really want, that honor who you are at your highest and best.
With that I’ll leave you with this question: What’s possible for you when you trust the process?
