Austin Kaseman "My Own Flow"

I enjoyed reading Daniels article on Flow, and completely agree. Whenever I become aware of what I'm doing, it throws off the vibe and rythm I'm in. Golf has taught me to keep my flow under control, especially in pressure situations. They say golf is a game played mainly in your head. The more you think about your round and each shot, the worse you will play. The keys to keeping myself in my own sense of flow are pretty simple. You have to find a certain rhythm to get in, and once there, stay in it for as long as possible. To get in the zone, or in a state flow, it helps to repeatedly sing a song over and over again in your head. I love listening to my Ipod before rounds just to try to purposely get something stuck in my head when I won't have my earphones in. While playing your round (or performing whatever other task), your brain will automatically take care of the essentials. I'll hit my first shot, quickly analyze the situation I put myself in, and will sing the song in my head on the long walk to to the ball. Over analyzing is a problem in many sports and regular life decisions as well. The long walks in golf give you a lot of time to over analyze the situation and psych yourself out. A fast paced sport on the other hand is a little easier to make split decisions. The better rhythm you put yourself in, the better you will accomplish tasks.