Dave Pelz, golf coach to Phil Mickelson, reminds us of an important truth: “Having the right device but using it incorrectly is worse than no practice. Practice does not make perfect; practice makes permanent. And if you practice as poorly as most golfers do, then you will be a permanent bad golfer.”
David Pelz must have been watching my golf swing! I don’t need more time at the driving range. I need to do some unlearning! I need to start fresh with a coach who could guide me to correct movements worth practicing.
In a never-ending time-crunch, it’s far too easy to learn enough to get things done instead of learning what could be done if you invested time to learn it right from the beginning. As a result, we underuse our software programs. Instead of expanding our repertoire of options, we find a way to do what we’ve always done using the new system. We aren’t learning; we’re setting the stage to be permanently ineffective.
Where do you need to start from the beginning by breaking established habits and taking your performance to a new, higher level? What kind of coach do you need? Habits are great strengths and inviting traps; work this week to changing your habits where they can make the biggest difference to you and your organization.
(Source: Dave Pelz, coach to Phil Mickelson, quoted in Timothy J. Carroll, “Gadget Golfer”, WSJ, April 7, 2008, p. R1.)
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