Bob Rotella on (GASP!) Choking

Some days you just need an inspirational quote that is so blunt that it hits you between the eyes and you say, "Yeah, I get it." That's what I've got for you today.



This is a quote from sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella, and it's from the foreward to Gary Player's book Don't Choke: A Champion's Guide to Winning Under Pressure.

To learn how to handle, enjoy and thrive on pressure, you have to be willing to choke. With time, experience, a great deal of self-reflection, and honest self-understanding, anyone can learn how to thrive on pressure.

The great competitors actually learn to perform better in pressure situations than in casual ones. But even the best will still occasionally choke and then have to relearn their lessons.

You've probably heard successful people say that, in order to succeed, you've got to be willing to fail. But I bet you've never heard them use the word 'choke'! That's because nobody wants to admit it happened to them.

All of us choke from time to time. We don't just fail, we CHOKE. We may hate the word but it doesn't change the truth of it. Choking is inevitable -- not just in golf, but in all areas of life. Call it what you want, but it happens to everybody. And it's going to happen to you more than once in your life. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

But as Rotella says, there's hope. Anyone can learn to handle pressure. It's a skill you learn, just like everything else in life. As long as you don't give up, you can learn to deal with choking.

Hopefully this quote will help you find the courage to get up, brush yourself off and try again when it happens to you.

And it will. Welcome to the human race.