Your Mind Doesn't Understand "No"… Or Does It?

[iacas]

I don't hear the same thing at all. I often will start my diagnosis of a hole by saying "okay, left is dead, can't go anywhere near the OB there." And I almost never do… I'm much, much more likely to hit it well right — even if I'm aimed down the center because OB is 30 yards left.

So I don't agree. My body/mind differentiate between "you want to hit it left" and "do NOT go left!"

[saevel25]

I voted no. How we word things can have a big impact on how we view things.

Example, a person drives down the highway and someone cuts them off. The initial response is to get angry at them, and be upset for the next 10 minutes. A simple thought of, "What if that person was trying to get to the hospital because a loved one got hurt." will immediately throw a cold bucket of water on that anger. 

How we look at things can have a big impact on our emotional state. If one way of thinking imposes anxiety then that could have a major impact on what we want to do with the golf shot. 

 

[CarlSpackler]

I disagree, but I still focus on where I want the ball to go instead of where I don't want it to.

 

 

[JxQx]

I disagree because people bail out on shots all the time. Don’t hit it left, block or slice right. Don’t hit it thin, end up flubbing the shot. Don’t leave this putt short, blast a putt 6 feet past the hole. 

[DaveP043]

I think we DO differentiate between DO and DO NOT.  However, I think the best way to approach a shot in golf is to focus on what you DO want to do.  Evaluate the DO NOT, and then select a positive focus on what you DO want.  To focus attention on the OB line as you are setting up to hit a shot, for instance, seems to be to be inviting yourself to subconsciously aim at the OB line.  So evaluate the OB line, tell yourself DO NOT hit it there, select a goal of hitting it to the opposite edge of the fairway, and focus on that edge of the fairway.  

I'm with @saevel25, to some extent the DO NOT evaluation induces fear or uncertainty.  I believe its better to approach a golf shot with a positive attitude and a positive goal.

[dagolfer18]

Whenever I think to myself, “Don’t hit it in the water”, my mind disregards “don’t”. That being said, instead of thinking “Don’t  hit it in the water”, I think, “Keep it dry”. Instead of thinking “Don’t hit it OB”, I think, “Keep it in play.” Works for me.

[iacas]

32 minutes ago, JxQx said:

I disagree because people bail out on shots all the time. Don’t hit it left, block or slice right. Don’t hit it thin, end up flubbing the shot. Don’t leave this putt short, blast a putt 6 feet past the hole. 

Right, this. I see that a lot more often than I see people saying "don't leave it short" and then leaving it short.

20 minutes ago, dagolfer18 said:

Whenever I think to myself, “Don’t hit it in the water”, my mind disregards “don’t”. That being said, instead of thinking “Don’t  hit it in the water”, I think, “Keep it dry”. Instead of thinking “Don’t hit it OB”, I think, “Keep it in play.” Works for me.

Despite your agreement with the psychologists, you seem to be in the early minority here.

---

To all, this isn't a discussion about what is "better" - I'd agree that focusing on what you want to do is probably "better" for almost everyone. It's a discussion of whether saying "don't" has the effects that Bob Rotella and others say it does: that your body/mind don't understand "don't" at all. I think they're wrong.

[mcanadiens]

My mind interprets "do not" exactly as it reads. What my swing does after that is anyone's guess.

On any course I've played regularly, the bail out areas become familiar. Hit it in or over a sandtrap instead of the water on the other side. Risk a tree or two and not go Red October. If I'm playing half decent, I can avoid the hazard I'm most worried about most of the time and risk the lesser of evils. Sometimes I get lucky and the ball veers back to the fairway. Shot zone right?

Trouble on both sides? It's just hit and hope. So long Hawk #12. No more balls for you.

 

[GolfLug]

I haven't voted yet because I honestly do not understand the context of what Rotella is saying. From the above responses it seems almost too obvious that hit/DO NOT hit is not the same thing.

1) The difference goes into decision making. So yes logical brain absolutely understands and uses the difference.

2) Fear might make you do the opposite of what you want to. 'Primal' brain can interfere, induce fear/tension.. whatever. Still it is NOT because mind doesn't get it. Au contraire, fear is a response when the difference is over-amplified.  

What's the context of what is he saying? Don't have/haven't read the book so would appreciate if someone would oblige with an answer. 

[ChetlovesMer]

55 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I think we DO differentiate between DO and DO NOT.  However, I think the best way to approach a shot in golf is to focus on what you DO want to do.  Evaluate the DO NOT, and then select a positive focus on what you DO want.  To focus attention on the OB line as you are setting up to hit a shot, for instance, seems to be to be inviting yourself to subconsciously aim at the OB line.  So evaluate the OB line, tell yourself DO NOT hit it there, select a goal of hitting it to the opposite edge of the fairway, and focus on that edge of the fairway.  

I'm with @saevel25, to some extent the DO NOT evaluation induces fear or uncertainty.  I believe its better to approach a golf shot with a positive attitude and a positive goal.

+1

[ShawnSum]

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

I voted no. How we word things can have a big impact on how we view things.

Big time super 100% agree with this.

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

I think we DO differentiate between DO and DO NOT.  However, I think the best way to approach a shot in golf is to focus on what you DO want to do.  Evaluate the DO NOT, and then select a positive focus on what you DO want.  To focus attention on the OB line as you are setting up to hit a shot, for instance, seems to be to be inviting yourself to subconsciously aim at the OB line.  So evaluate the OB line, tell yourself DO NOT hit it there, select a goal of hitting it to the opposite edge of the fairway, and focus on that edge of the fairway.  

I'm with @saevel25, to some extent the DO NOT evaluation induces fear or uncertainty.  I believe its better to approach a golf shot with a positive attitude and a positive goal.

Very well thought out and worded as always @DaveP043

[CarlSpackler]

Bear in mind that Dr. Rotella is referring to the subconscious mind. We all know what our conscious mind is thinking because we are consciously thinking about it. We don't know what our subconscious mind is thinking. It's hard to make arguments about what is going on in the subconscious mind since we do not have awareness of it. I'm not saying that I agree with it. This is more of a belief thing. Is there actually a subconscious mind, and how does Dr. R. or anyone know what is going on in there?

I'm glad the Dr. Freud didn't write a book on golf. There is OB left, so clearly you want to sleep with your mother. 😋

[Vinsk]

Unless it’s a shank...I don’t have enough skill to ‘hit in the water’ whether I tell myself to do it or not to do it. I’m 100% reliable with the shanks...Otherwise it’s all a random shit show out there. So I voted disagree. 

[saevel25]

So, "Don't hit it in the water" = "Hit it in the water" psychologically? I would say this is a no. I think he is backing this statement on that a lot of golfers get fixated on avoiding the hazard and this will cause them to then hit it in the hazard. I think it's more that golfers don't know how to accurately apply their shot zone into their game planning. 

 

[David in FL]

Disagree as well.  Most people are far more likely to overcompensate than to do exactly what they’re telling themselves not to do...

[iacas]

41 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

What's the context of what is he saying? Don't have/haven't read the book so would appreciate if someone would oblige with an answer. 

Someone could say it better than I, but basically, he says your mind/body doesn't understand "no."

So, if your thought is "do not hit it in the water to the right" your mind/body will "hear" that as "do hit it in the water to the right" and will do what it can to try to help you achieve your "stated" goal.

[DaveP043]

1 minute ago, iacas said:

Someone could say it better than I, but basically, he says your mind/body doesn't understand "no."

So, if your thought is "do not hit it in the water to the right" your mind/body will "hear" that as "do hit it in the water to the right" and will do what it can to try to help you achieve your "stated" goal.

To me, the detail is wrong, we DO understand the difference.  But the advice that would come out of this (I assume, I haven't read Rotella) is to move past DO NOT to the next step, which is to pick an affirmative target.  This is probably productive advice for golfers who fixate their attention on the DO NOT location.

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

To me, the detail is wrong, we DO understand the difference.  But the advice that would come out of this (I assume, I haven't read Rotella) is to move past DO NOT to the next step, which is to pick an affirmative target.  This is probably productive advice for golfers who fixate their attention on the DO NOT location.

Sure, and IIRC he does suggest that. I also think he suggests not even ever worrying about "do not" things, which I disagree with, and I also think he's wrong about the base: I can think "do not" and NEVER move on to the "do" target and still not hit it there any more than the statistical likelihood of a horrible shot.

If I'm standing next to a building to my right, I can think about the building and "don't hit it right, don't hit it right" and I'm gonna pull the crap out of the ball, I'm not going to hit it right.