How Can I Forget Past Mistakes When I Am Bowling In Competition?
By: bowlingball.com
Publish Date: 10/3/15
Updated 11/9/2020If you are asking "how can I forget past mistakes when I am bowling in competition?", you likely need to focus on an old but dependable adage of making one good shot at a time.
If bad memories creep into your mind when you are faced with pressure situations and need to perform your best, simply think only of what you must do to make the next shot successful.
Center your thoughts on one shot at a time. As a talented player, trust the keys of your game to help you when you become less nervous or tense in competition and lock in your thoughts to the next shot you must make.
Develop a trigger mechanism to keep your thoughts in the moment.
Perhaps you can focus on when you begin your approach so your mind does not wander?
Key on making a slow and smooth start with your first step. Maybe a key for you is to swing your bowling ball freely and with no tension in your arm or to stay behind the ball and avoid turning the ball early?
These keys can prevent your mind from bringing back poor memories of past performances.
What you did at any time in the past including your most recent and previous shots are of no consequence when preparing to make your next shot. Think only about what you must do at the moment you are preparing to bowl and of nothing else.
Being an intense and a highly competitive person can cause bad thoughts or memories to come to the forefront of your mind regardless of how talented you are as a player.
That is why it is important to develop and rely on a trigger you can focus on to keep your mind in the present and on what you must to to produce the next good shot.
Update your thought process quickly after you make a shot and think about what is coming next.
Staying in the moment by focusing on the keys of your game you have worked to develop and which have become the “anchors” you need to produce good results in competition are vital for success.
No one makes top quality shots every time. Be realistic with your expectations so you do not place unwanted pressure on yourself.
When bowling in competition, you are no longer in the planning process but rather in the performing process.
To err is human. The trick in bowling is to err as few times as possible. Stay in the moment, do not get ahead of yourself nor dwell in the past, and think only about making one good shot at a time.
