Staying on Top of Your Game Over the Holidays
By: Sarah Frey, MS, CMT® & Robert Neff, Ph.D., CMT®

Let’s face it, when the holidays roll around, many of us break from our normal routines to accommodate parties, family gatherings, gift shopping, or inclement weather. And although spending quality time with family and friends, and treating ourselves every once in a while is key for mental, emotional, and physical well-being, often the holidays encourage over-indulgence and the feeling of high-stress hustle that leaves us desperately awaiting the opportunity to make those new year resolutions.

Rather than waiting for the New Year to develop new routines or re-establish old ones, why not stay on top of your golf game, your end of the year deadlines, your health, and even your gift shopping!

We’ve listed some ideas for how you can use this Holiday season to improve the routines you’ve spent the year strengthening. It only takes a few minutes to start, and then a few minutes a day to keep things going:

  1. Visualize: Imagine yourself performing well, whether this includes rounds of golf, a presentation, or accomplishing all the tasks you’ve outlined for that day;
  2. Set Practice Goals: This may include how many times you take out the clubs and work on your swing a certain number of times a day or week or how long you’ll spend exercising at the gym or how much time each day you’ll devote to responding to emails;
  3. Use Consequences: When you reach your goals, reward yourself. Then make the goals a little tougher the next week;
  4. Plan Ahead: On Sunday, review your upcoming week and schedule in time to exercise, run errands, complete your work tasks, and prepare for the events of the following weekend. Or to keep your golf game sharp, find courses online and print out pictures of the holes so you can use the club appropriate for each shot;
  5. Use MTI: Consider working with a live Mental Trainer® so you can add some mental toughness to your game, like how to control your thoughts and emotions. MTI also has created a new mobile app called MentalApp® to help you do all of the items above; and finally,
  6. Take a Vacation: Maybe to a warm spot IF you reach your practice goals!

Don’t allow the holidays or the cold winter to be your excuse for letting go of all your good habits. Keep the clubs out, put on some warm clothes, and use MentalApp & phone reminders to to improve your game over the holidays!

About the Authors
Sarah Frey earned her Masters degree in Kinesiology & Sports Psychology from the University of North Texas and is a Certified Mental Trainer®. Dr. Bob Neff is the founder of Mental Training, Inc. and has provided mental training services for athletes, performers, and business executives since 1990. His athlete clients include world champions, and Olympic Gold Medalists. Dr. Bob is on the United States Olympic Committee sport psychology registry. Both Dr. Bob and Sarah are among 25 MTI Mental Trainers® who provide 1 on 1 mental training in the Dallas area and worldwide through video conferencing.