Anticipate or Expect? |
Creating a Positive Internal Environment
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| by Jeff Troesch |
 As with many things when using language,
there are sometimes subtle but important
differences between words. I’d like to
explore the difference between
anticipation and expectation,
and apply this to golf. The reason why I
think this distinction is important is that I
respectfully disagree with some in my
industry who suggest to players that they
should expect to play well, and
expect to win. My issue with this is
that I believe that while expectations can
create a positive anticipation, I also
believe that when people have enough trials
of not getting what they expect, there is a
more significant negative response. For some
players these negative responses are
sometimes more difficult to overcome.
In other words:
To expect….for many means to get the outcome
that they “should” get
To anticipate… for many means to see the
outcome that they “want” to get
How is any of this important to your golf
training and your golf performance?
When helping a player prepare for an event or
a round or even a particular shot (when I’m
caddying) I want the player to be
anticipating the best will happen.
This helps the player to see a picture in his
mind of that which he wants to create.
Anticipating a positive outcome might mean
things like seeing the shape of the shot,
visualizing the ball rolling into the cup,
picturing oneself on the phone after an event
excitedly talking about how they won. I
believe these types of exercises create a
positive internal environment that actually
influence whether or not these types of
positive things occur.
However, an expectation that these
things will happen regularly bring on a sense
of worry or anxiety for some players- “What
if I don’t get that outcome”?- and for some
creates a standard of performance that is
expected by themselves or somebody else.
This tendency leads to many players thinking
about how they should have played or
ought to have hit the ball- the kind
of thinking that puts some players on a
negative mental spiral.
In order to stay enthusiastic and excited and
hopeful, anticipate that something good is
going to happen!
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