Whether we are talking about musical performance or playing a round of golf, we are still talking about mastery. I define mastery as building up the thickness of the correct parts of your brain. This is based upon the “use it or lose it” coined by the late Canadian psychologist Donald Hebb. Like building up a bicep, the more that you use a specific area of the brain, the thicker and more powerful it becomes. Think of this as building mental strength. Of course, if you are obsessing about the last bad shot, realize that you are then building up the “loser networks” in your brain. So it is important to be aware of your thoughts and the content that you are installing and strengthening in your brain.

There are three steps to mastering anything. They are installing he correct information into your brain, reinforcing it, which I call encoding, through practice – and especially mental practice – and thirdly, developing the ability to recall masterful performance when needed. It is actually this simple. Mastery is first and foremost a matter of developing your brain. Just think of savants, who are mentally challenged yet display tremendous talents in areas such as memory, music, and even sports. I remember reading about David, who was a young mental patient in Wisconsin. He loved throwing basketballs from the free throw line. He would do this for hours at a time. The amazing thing about David is that he never missed. I am not saying that he rarely missed. I am saying that he NEVER missed. Clearly there was something very special regarding how his brain was structured and enhanced. My studies and theories are based in part on the feats and accomplishments of people like David and many expert-level performers in several different fields.

Not everyone who develops their brain and body automatically becomes a master. This is because bad habits can be mastered as well. I often say that you can be a master at anything. That means losing as well as winning. Therefore, while you may not wish to become a sports psychologist or physiologist, identifying the right skills and tasks – to include observing the masterful performance of accomplished players – encoding them within your brain and body, and then recalling them when needed can be accomplished by just about anyone who sets the right goals and commits to taking action.

These topics are essential to my Golf Mind/Training CD’s and MP3’s. They are also covered in our new Path to Mastery program.