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Warning: Contentment May Cause Happiness on the Course.

FullSizeRender“When contentment is actively cultivated, it is an unparalleled sweetness of being.” (Patajali’s Yoga Sutras, 2:42)

The golfer’s disease: We get wrapped up in waiting for some future happiness. The perfect score, the perfect playing conditions, the symptoms are endless. Desires (I WANT) and Aversions (I DON’T WANT) are the ego based roller coaster ride of emotions sabotaging our game. CONTENTMENT (Santosha in Sanskrit) is the tool for overcoming these afflictions and the key to a sweeter adventure on every shot.

Desires:

  • I will be happy when I finally break 100, 90, 80,70…It never ends.
  • I want to hit my drives 300 yards.
  • I will only enjoy golf when I ‘fix’ my swing.
Aversions:
  • I don’t want to play with Mr. XYZ because he is too slow.
  • I don’t want to have to make another 3 foot putt.
  • I don’t want to embarrass myself.

Cultivating Contentment does NOT mean being LAZY.  Desires stemming from a lack of completeness or a desperation that we need something outside ourselves to make us feel fulfilled is very different than INTENTION and GOAL SETTING. (For example, ‘I INTEND to hit every shot with a relaxed tempo today.’ VS. ‘I have to shoot 71 or better to be a good person.’)

How can we find contentment in our games amongst the obstacles? We practice and work hard without attaching our happiness to the outcome and score.  True happiness comes from committing to the process, doing the best that we can in every moment and letting the golf gods take care of the rest. Everything is exactly as it should be.*

*Side effects may include: Gratitude, Smiling, Jumping for Joy, Fist Pumps, Feelings of Glee, Joy, Delight and Euphoria, Birdies, Eagles, Unconditional Happiness and Lower Scores.

 

Dodie Mazzuca is the founder of Golf PROformance and teaches golf and mindset programs in Santa Cruz, CA.

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