Swing thoughts for life
The golf swing is one of the most intricate and complex movements in sports.
So complex, in fact, that it’s simply impossible to keep everything you’ve learned in your head while you’re making the actual swing. To solve this, golfers came up with the “swing thought.”
A swing thought is the one element of your swing that you choose to focus on. It’s short and clear. By thinking of just the swing thought, you encourage your brain (and muscles) to execute specific actions that increase the odds hitting a great shot. Some examples of common swing thoughts are “hit down on the ball”, “inside-out swing path”, and “hold the finish.”
Here’s the magic — You can adapt the idea of the “swing thought” to your life, too.
Before I start my work each day, as part of reviewing my schedule and to-dos, I’ll also take a minute to think of and write down my swing thought for the day. Some days, the swing thought is a maxim or quote that I think has a practical application in my day-to-day. More frequently, though, it’s a short phrase so stupid simple so that it taps into the instinctual, caveman part of my brain. Here are some examples of swing thoughts I’ve used recently:
- Doubt doubt.
- Don’t live hour-to-hour, live experience-to-experience.
I have to do X➡️ I get to do X- Jung: “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
- Intensity eats strategy for breakfast.
- Chop wood, carry water.
- Pay attention to what you pay attention to.
Like a golf swing thought, I carry only one life swing thought throughout the day and trust that everything else will fall into place. I’ll intentionally pick a swing thought that counteracts what I might struggle with or how I might fall short that day.
Feeling lazy? Pick a swing thought that reminds you why you do this work!
Feeling like an entitled brat? Pick a swing thought about gratitude!
Feeling complacent? Pick a swing thought that’ll light a competitive fire under you!
With this small change, I get a daily opportunity to reprogram myself.
My articulation of “swing thoughts for life” is simply a remix of what many smart people have long figured out — monks calls them mantras, Derek Sivers calls them Directives, Brian Eno calls them Oblique Strategies, etc. They all roughly get at the same idea. And they all work wonderfully.
So, what will your swing thought be today?