#27: [Inside the Mind] Dr. Jason Novetsky: Creating Your Golf Identity to Play to Your Potential

episode-27-dr-jason-novetsky

Episode Introduction and Summary

Hey fellow golfers, welcome back to The Scratch Golfer’s Mindset Podcast! I’m your host, Paul Salter, The Golf Hypnotherapist, and today I’m excited to have Dr. Jason Novetsky, a sport and performance psychology coach, on the show.

In this episode, Dr. Novetsky shares invaluable insights into:

  • Mental toughness and the role of emotional resiliency
  • The power of a neutral mindset and how to overcome toxic positivity
  • Practical tips for building a strong golf identity and performance routine

We dive into how athletes can develop a growth mindset, overcome fear of success, and adopt a daily mental workout to achieve peak performance. Dr. Novetsky also shares strategies for bouncing back after a poor performance and how to stay committed to the process.

In this episode, we cover:

  • How to cultivate mental toughness and emotional resiliency
  • Creating an identity statement that drives your golf success
  • Overcoming fear of success and managing pressure
  • How to establish a daily mental workout routine for golfers

If you’re serious about elevating your mental game and seeing results on the course, this episode is a must-listen!P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about how mindset coaching and hypnotherapy can help you get unstuck from the proverbial bunker of poor performance on the course and in your business, click here to schedule a coaching discovery call with me.

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More About Dr. Novetsky

Dr. Novetsky is the sport psychology and mental toughness coach for numerous collegiate, high school, and club-level teams in various sports across Michigan and the United States. He coaches numerous individual professional, collegiate, and youth athletes in his Birmingham, MI office and virtually to help them achieve their personal championships.

​Learn more about and work with him here.

Key Takeaways:

  • Having a strong set of standards and values helps athletes live and play in the present with a neutral mindset in the face of pressure and adversity.
  • Emotional resilience is fostered by thinking more neutrally, being curious, thinking tactically, and focusing on the smartest next move.
  • Identity statements are short sentences or paragraphs that athletes read daily to align their behavior and choices with the person they want to become.
  • Patience is a common challenge for athletes, especially in a society that values instant gratification. It is important to focus on the process and evaluate oneself based on effort, attitude, preparation, and discipline.
  • Fear of success can stem from the expectations of others and the pressure to consistently perform at a high level. Setting new goals and focusing on growth can help alleviate this fear.
  • A growth mindset is crucial for athletes to continue improving. It involves being open to growth, embracing challenges, and learning from setbacks.
  • Detaching one’s identity from their score on the golf course is essential for maintaining a healthy mindset. 
  • Developing a mental workout routine away from the course can greatly improve performance. This routine can include activities such as meditation, reading goals, concentration grids, and visualization.
  • Self-evaluation is an important tool for bouncing back from poor performances. Golfers should reflect on what they did well, what they could have done better, and create a plan to improve.
  • It is important for golfers to separate their golf identity from their personal identity. They should remember that golf is just one aspect of their life and not let their performance on the course define their self-worth.

Key Quotes:

  • “Having a strong set of standards and values that you always fall back on helps you to live and play in the present with a neutral mindset in the face of pressure and adversity.”
  • “We need to think more neutrally, be curious, think tactically, think effectively, think productively.”
  • “Your behavior or your choices or the way you speak to yourself consistent with the person you want to be?”
  • “What are the ingredients and recipe you need to make that plate happen?”

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Time Stamps:

  • 00:00: Introduction and Background of Dr. Jason Novetsky
  • 03:12: Emotional Resilience and Thinking Neutrally
  • 08:01: Standards, Values, and Identity in Athletes
  • 12:12: Creating Identity Statements for Athletes
  • 15:00: The Importance of Patience in Athletes’ Journeys
  • 23:13: Goal Setting and the Process of Achievement
  • 26:15: The Role of Mental Training in Improving Performance
  • 29:31: Embracing a Growth Mindset to Bounce Back from Poor Performances
  • 32:32: Detaching Identity from Score and Focusing on Process
  • 37:29: Developing a Mental Workout Routine for Improved Performance
  • 41:00: Self-Evaluation as a Tool for Bouncing Back
  • 43:27: Separating Golf Identity from Personal Identity

Transcript:

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (00:02.521)

Hey, Dr. Novetsky. Thank you so much for joining me on an episode of the Scratch Golfers Mindset podcast. How are you today?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (00:08.982)

I’m Gray Paul, thanks for having me, it’s a pleasure to be here.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (00:11.533)

Yeah, likewise, excited to dive in and let’s go ahead and paint the picture. Waste no time. Let’s build a foundation for our listeners. For those who are not familiar with you, introduce yourself and don’t be humble. Share your credentials, your experience. Who is Dr. Nowitzki?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (00:26.126)

Okay, well, I am a sport and performance psychology coach. I’m in Birmingham, Michigan. I have a private practice called Champion Mindset Group, where I work with athletes as young as 10 or 11, all the way up to professional athletes. All different types of sports, men and women, boys and girls. Athletes come to work with me for a myriad of reasons. Sometimes it’s they just want to get better at their sport, accomplish a few goals.

or they’re dealing with some serious or specific issues, stress, pressure, anxiety, nerves, confidence, overcoming an injury. Maybe it’s a professional dealing with a contract year and all the pressures that come along with that as well. Or sometimes it’s just a little guy that is afraid of being hit by the baseball. And we work on those kinds of fears as well. So I love my work. I love working with all different sports. And I just, makes it exciting because you never know what’s going to come in

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (01:23.479)

relate to that. was also the little guy who in his first at bat in machine pitch baseball got hit by the machine and was terrified for another week before I actually stepped back up to the plate. So I wish I had your work back then. So I want to kick things off with a champion mindset. And for me, I think they go very close hand in hand with mental toughness. So how would you define mental toughness?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (01:34.252)

Rightly so. Yeah.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (01:49.078)

Yeah, it’s a good question. get that a lot. I think I’ve been thinking about this when you sent me that question and I’ve been asked this before. And I think it starts with having a strong set of standards and values that you always fall back on that helps you to live and play in the present, you know, with what I call or other people have called a neutral mindset in the face of pressure and adversity.

You know, so me personally, I always fall back on the philosophy of stoicism. It’s something I’ve studied for a long time and that helps me, you know, stay true to being courageous, doing my work with justice, good self -discipline or temperance as it’s called, and try to make the wisest or most tactical decision

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (02:35.557)

we finish this episode, we can dig into stoicism, you and I, Ryan Holiday, and have a whole nother discussion. Stillness is the key, changed my life for so many ways. So cool to hear you say that. Now, as we unpack that further, I love your nod to the neutral mindset. That’s something I often talk to about my clients is if you can’t make the change from negative to positive, how can we at least make forward progress to neutral?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (02:43.938)

Yes. Yeah.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (02:58.169)

What I typically find myself talking a lot about in this realm is emotional resiliency. And I’m curious to hear from your perspective and in your experience, what is emotional resiliency and how does that foster stronger mental toughness?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (03:12.526)

Well, let’s start with the neutral. know, I first heard of that a few years ago, actually listening to an interview that was done with Trevor Mulwad, who wrote the book, Takes What It Takes. And that was the first time I ever heard that concept of neutral thinking. I’m like, wow, this is amazing because I’ve noticed over the 15 or so years of doing this kind of work and also as a division one college athlete that I hated when people told me to be more positive. And especially when I was competing.

And it made me very angry. makes my clients angry when a coach or somebody says, Hey, just keep your head up, be more positive. Everything will be okay. And when Trevor said that, it just kind of the light bulb went on. I was like, yeah, that makes sense. We need to think more neutrally, be curious, think tactically, think effectively, think productively. And so I think with that kind of mindset, that helps us be more resilient emotionally when things don’t go well, you know, or according to our plan, or we get distracted by some type of adversity.

If we can just stay focused on, what’s the smartest next move here? That helps us stay more resilient in my

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (04:13.977)

Why are we conditioned to always give that advice? Stay positive, keep your head up. Why is that our go -to?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (04:19.566)

I think we were, like you said, we were conditioned to it. And what else was there, right? It was either your negative or positive. And I thought it was brilliant when Trevor said that, because his dad was Mr. Positive, like Chicken Soup for the Soul book guy. And so he just didn’t subscribe to that. And I said, wow, that makes so much sense. So I think it sounds great. I think everybody that when they’re trying to help somebody or see somebody struggling, that they want to pick them up somehow. And I just think positive is our natural next move.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (04:49.061)

Well said and I used to say like I was emotionally constipated for 30 years and I’ve said this many times but like I was guilty of toxic positivity. Everything was okay to the point it was repressing some of the harder areas of my life I needed to identify and similar to you first coming across this neutral mindset I was like, wait, what is that? Maybe I don’t have to just force, force, force to put up this facade, this front that everything has to be, you know, perfect, la la Instagram worthy to post on social media. Maybe things don’t have to be that way. And it actually, in my experience,

took off some of the pressure and allowed me to be myself and perhaps even grow a little bit quicker once I did

Dr. Jason Novetsky (05:25.442)

Yeah, that makes sense to me. I I think I grew up with a lot of coaches that try to be positive, over the top positive and just like you, it just didn’t help me at

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (05:36.889)

Yeah, I hear on that. you use two words I really, really liked early on in your one of your answers to me, standards and values. I’d love to hear a little bit more of how you define each of these and what role they play in helping an individual remain focused on the process.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (05:56.536)

Well, it starts with me and my clients. We talk about self image and identity. And so I believe that you’re going to behave and perform based on who you believe you are. And to know that you have to start with your own standards or values. I guess we can use those interchangeably. Maybe they’re not, but so I will sit with a client and I’ve done this on my own self is what are those values that I hold dear to my heart? What was I raised on?

whether it’s your religion or just your family values, or maybe other coaches have taught you or mentors have taught you. So what do you value? What’s important to you? How do you want to be remembered? What is your, I hate to use this word, but what is your brand? What are you selling out there? And then essentially is your behavior or your choices or the way you speak to yourself consistent with the person you want to be? And if you’re not, I think that’s when we get into a lot of

So, you whatever those standards are for you, like, you know, you’re trustworthy, you’re hardworking, you’re resilient, you’re a good friend, you’re a good teammate, you’re reliable, whatever those are for you, are you behaving that way when the pressure is on? And so to me, that’s where that comes from.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (07:08.696)

Yeah. It’s so, I mean, this is divine timing for when we’re recording this episode, because I just recorded my Tuesday solo one this morning for tomorrow. This is August 5th when Dr. Nowitzki and I are recording, but I literally posed the question. was like, I think I don’t have a golf identity. And just a long story short for you, like I picked up, I didn’t touch clubs for 15 years. I’m four months getting back into it. And I’m sitting here in my mind, like I’m this confident, competitive, aggressive guy. And then I look at my performance the last two rounds, I’m like,

Dr. Jason Novetsky (07:24.013)

Mmm.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (07:37.231)

there wasn’t even an ounce of that present. I was timid, inconsistent, I wasn’t trusting my swing. And I was like, I need to put together an identity. it was so timely when I was putting my notes together and then to hear you say that, and I’m curious. under this umbrella of like, I need my golf identity. I have these standards or these values and they might be competition, they might be aggression, they might be patience, whatever they may be. What else?

does someone really need to take a hard look inward at to help them shape that identity of who they wish to play as on the golf course.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (08:09.528)

Well, I think it depends on the timing, right? Cause you’re in a situation, like if we’re using you as a guinea pig here, like you’re getting back into the game, you’re obviously athletic, you have a background, you’re knowledgeable in the mental side as well, but your physical skills aren’t there yet where you want them to be, right? You have these goals. But so your identity right now should be honest and realistic. Like you’re a guy that’s getting back into the game, that’s open -minded, that’s willing to learn, that’s patient, that you know you’re going to have setbacks.

At the same time, you’re competitive and you want to play high level golf. When that is, to be determined. But you also understand there’s a process to get there. So I think, you know, within everything I just said there, you pick out a couple standards and values or characteristics and you say, okay, that’s my identity, but it’s evolving. Like currently this is where I’m at. I believe this is who I am and where I want to go. This is who I’m going to be. But you can’t just say,

right off the get go, I’m a scratched golfer. you know, I’ve had done mistakes with that before, you know, where I’ve worked with people and they just put these pie in the sky things up there and they know they’re lying to themselves. And so then the whole concept that we worked on just loses credibility.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (09:27.129)

Well said, I’ve often found that’s in a weird ironic way, that’s the easy way out. To have such a lofty unrealistic goal, you get such a flood of temporary dopamine, it feels good in the moment, and then you realize, shit, that means I have to do X, Y, and Z and put in years of effort, hardship, yada, yada, yada. No, I’m just gonna say that’s what I am, it’s easier.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (09:45.142)

Yeah, yeah. And you got to look at real life too, because there’s barriers to that success, right? If you want to be this high level golfer, well, you have to be honest with yourself. What’s getting in the way? And what can I do about it? Because there’s a lot of things that are non -negotiables in many people’s lives, family, jobs, things like that, where becoming a scratch golfer later in life is incredibly hard. It’s really hard. So we have to be realistic

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (10:08.151)

I hear you as someone as I just, before we hit record, I’m moving in six days. I’ve got a baby on the way. I’m like trying to use up my precious time to get out there as often as I can before I know life changes for the better in so many ways, but golf falls down the priority list.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (10:17.261)

Yes.

for sure. That’s right. Yeah. Well, congratulations.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (10:24.197)

thank you. So then I love to something you spoke about a lot that I’d love to get your take on is this. I know we have our identity now, you we’re not a scratch golfer. We are, know, we are we are on the cusp of breaking 100 consistently, or maybe on the cusp of breaking 80. We need something to reaffirm where we’re at that is, you know, slightly pushing us beyond our current level of comfort and expectation. You use the words an identity statement. What is that? How do you go about creating it with your clients? And what’s the long term

Dr. Jason Novetsky (10:31.213)

Mm

Dr. Jason Novetsky (10:53.772)

So I’m probably not the first person to say identity statement. I’m sure I picked that up along the way somewhere. But it’s just a short sentence or paragraph that we will cultivate together, client and myself. And that’s something they start reading. My instruction to them is, hey, let’s read this every day as part of their mental work. So it can start to become the program that runs us. To me, it becomes like a filter. So hey, is what I’m doing today consistent with the person I wanna become?

who I am right now. And if not, you gotta check yourself, right? And it’s okay if you have a bad day, you have a rough day, you get off the track, that’s fine. Just keep getting back on the path. And that’s what we try to do. So by reading it every day, I think you just become more aware of it and it pops up in your head more often when you’re about to make a choice.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (11:40.389)

So what are the key points for someone listening that he or she should factor in when it comes to cultivating their own identity statement? What should they focus on versus maybe what they shouldn’t focus on to create a powerful statement?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (11:53.41)

I think you have to first start with what are your goals, right? What are your realistic yet challenging goals for yourself? What are the barriers to those goals? And then what are some character skills that either you have or need to cultivate that will help you overcome those barriers so you have a better chance of becoming that person?

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (12:12.719)

I like that. So for those of you listening, explicitly broken down, simple step -by -step process, and I’m curious for my own sake, is there any element there you found valuable in focusing on maybe the skills or characteristics to let go of the personality traits or the habits that may be holding you back from ultimately achieving that goal?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (12:30.86)

Yeah. So I work with a lot of high level athletes and one of the common characteristics I find are comparison to others and perfectionism. And so it’s well known that a lot of great athletes are perfectionistic, but I think the best ones keep that perfection, excuse me, perfectionistic tendency, but they also accept that perfectionism is unattainable. And so they, they, they strive for it with the understanding and acceptance that they’re probably not going to get

but they’re gonna get pretty darn close if they keep trying. And then the comparison, to stop comparing yourself to others. You can learn from others, you can observe others. That’s great. Use them as a learning opportunity, but only compare yourself to yourself. Are you getting better every day? Are you getting closer to that person in that identity

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (13:19.983)

very well said and let’s run with perfectionism. I agree. You see it everywhere at the highest of levels. There’s, you might also see the type A, the OCD tendencies because they want to maximize every ounce of potential, every yard of potential in the game of golf. What are some of the steps and frameworks you empower your clients with to help them? You described it beautifully. It’s almost like there’s this neutral place of acceptance that I’m going to give my all.

but perfection is not really a realistic outcome. How do you help them achieve a, know, some of the research will call it like maladaptive versus adaptive perfectionism, this perfectionism that works for them. How do you help them cultivate that relationship?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (13:59.51)

Right. So again, going back to the goals, you have these outcomes, right? That you want in the future. Some are measurable. Some are just like, we feel it when we get there. I like to help my athletes detach themselves from some of those outcomes. It’s good to have them, but let’s detach a little bit and let’s focus more on the process to get there and let’s evaluate ourselves. Are we committed to the steps it takes to get to where we want to go? And if you can check those boxes each day and start stacking those days

Well, next thing you know, you’re getting closer and closer to that outcome that you want. But you have to understand there’s so many variables in the way. There’s so many things, as you know, we can and cannot control things that are up to us and not up to us, going back to stoicism, that you have to accept. And what is up to you? You your attitude, your effort, your judgment, your reactions, your preparation, that’s up to you, your commitment, your discipline. If you can evaluate yourself on those measures and you can strive in those measures,

Well then you’re going to be close to attaining what

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (15:00.153)

very well said. And again, for everyone listening, keywords, commitment, process, acceptance, the best of the best are following these same principles and focusing on, I mean, we look at, we’re coming off the, backend of the Olympics yesterday, Scheffler hit like less than, I don’t know, half of the fairways. It’s never a game of perfect, but he cultivates this neutral attitude, this winner’s mindset, and he’s focused on his process one shot at a time. And lo and behold, he takes home the gold.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (15:27.564)

And see, he’s a great example of what we’re talking about, right? Because for years, everybody’s trying to cultivate the perfect swing and trying to be like Adam Scott or Rory or Tiger. But then you look at a guy like Scheffler and his feet are all over the place, but he knows his swing. He practices the fundamentals. He’s got those grip trainers on some clubs that he uses every day in the range. I mean, so there’s a guy that, you know, wants to win, obviously he’s a very humble person, but he understands you don’t have to

perfect to be the best. Or look perfect to be the

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (15:58.937)

Yeah, incredibly well set. Now, what do you notice with your athletes? You you’re seeing people who are at the best of their best. They’re aware of what it takes. And of course, you need to add some perspective and some honesty about, maybe you aren’t doing enough. But once you get them on board with what it takes to be the best of the best, what are you finding to be some of the common challenges to following through on commitment, to actually executing what needs to be

Dr. Jason Novetsky (16:28.238)

Patience is one of the things that they struggle with. it’s all mostly I would say, I don’t know, the generation 35 and under, I would say, and it’s not their fault. I’m not bashing on millennials or anything like that. And, you know, they grew up in a time where everything was instant gratification, right? I mean, I’m 54 years old. My colleagues and my friends,

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (16:29.806)

Mmm.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (16:54.552)

You wanted to order something on TV when you were young, it took four to six weeks to get it. That’s unheard of now. People would freak out if they had to wait four to six weeks. And they would label that as terrible. Like that’s not doing that. That’s ridiculous, that sucks, whatever it is. And so the same thing that applies to our own personal standards, meaning if we don’t get good at something, lickety split, we suck. And that’s why you also see a lot of kids quit. And so they give

because they see on Instagram that this guy did it in 24 hours or they made a million dollars in two weeks and it’s just unrealistic. But that’s what they grew up around. If you wanna know something, you Google it. You wanna buy something, you’re on Amazon, it’s here tonight or tomorrow. You wanna get money, you go to the ATM. You wanna eat food, it’s delivered to your house from any restaurant in the world. mean, unbelievable, it’s all awesome. I’m not bashing it, I love it. But it also, I think, has deteriorated our ability to stay patient with human processes.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (17:53.285)

So what’s part of the solution? Obviously there’s no one size fits all, but how do we begin to diffuse this inherent impatience that many of us are wired with, especially some of the younger generations? And I know I fall in the middle of that category.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (18:07.015)

For me, it’s just chipping away with each athlete because they get so impatient. And again, evaluating them on what they are doing to get them closer to where they want to go and helping them realize that every person, every athlete, every performer is running their own race. And I always often give this little speech to them that, everybody’s born with a certain set of talent, if you will. But it’s up to you and your deliberate practice, your work ethic,

how many skills you’re gonna acquire to develop that talent to the next level. And again, it’s gonna take a different amount of time based on individual barriers you have, whether those are social barriers, financial barriers, physical barriers, mental barriers, everybody’s different. So again, going back to let’s stop comparing yourself to that guy or girl because you don’t know what they have. You don’t know what they were born with. So it’s useless. Learn from them, but don’t compare yourself.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (19:03.631)

very well said and I appreciate you taking the time to break that down and I’m curious next to patience, where does fear, fear of success, fear of all of now the eyeballs attention and spotlight on me when I have this transformative success, where does that rank in kind of common challenges you see and how do you tackle that? That’s a big

Dr. Jason Novetsky (19:21.74)

It is a big one, it’s funny, because I have this list of things that are potential barriers, like I said, and one of them says fear of success. And a lot of kids look at me like, what is it? Who would be afraid of success? And it’s like, well, have you looked yourself in the mirror sometimes? Maybe you are. Because it seems to me that every time we get a little closer, you kind of do something to sabotage your success. I wonder why that is. And so we’ll have that conversation of, is it possible that you’re afraid of the expectations of others that once you have success

Everybody’s gonna expect that from you and you’re not quite sure or confident enough to know that you did earn it. Or you’re not confident enough to know that you’re not gonna have that level of success every day. And honestly, nobody expects that of you every day. Maybe the media does, because it’s unrealistic, but your friends, your family, the people that care about you and know you, they know that, hey, you had an amazing day. You you shot 73, but that was the first time. Doesn’t mean you’re gonna do it every time just because you crossed that barrier

shooting par or under par, it doesn’t happen that often to us amateurs.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (20:25.573)

Yeah, that is one of my favorite to kind of defuse and dismantle and really talk about. Because you’re right, you get that first instinct is just a state of shock. Like, wait, you mean I’m afraid of winning the tournament shooting par or whatever it may be? And it’s like, yeah, you probably are. And how do you begin to rationalize that with someone you’re working with and bringing in, I would assume perhaps there’s an opportunity to reduce some of the pressure, the false sense of pressure they begin to feel they’re gonna carry if they do in fact have that success.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (20:54.37)

Yeah, it’s a great question and I think we start again evaluating ourselves in other areas. So it might be a great time to reset the goals. So now we’ve checked that box, but we’ve only done it once. So now maybe the goal is to do it twice a month or more consistently or keep a handicap at a certain level consistently. And let’s see if that handicap will travel to different places and things like that and start identifying maybe where your weak spots are in your game. So we’re always looking at growth instead of always the

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (21:25.197)

outstanding and I’m gaining a sense here and this is kind of just me extracting that you very much prioritize. What’s the word consistent goal resetting revisiting of goals. It seems like along the way you use the word I’m chipping away when talking with your clients but there’s constant smaller goals leading up to the you know the big overarching goal is that typically how you like to have the conversation with your athletes.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (21:47.17)

Yeah, the conversation starts with, and this is just me, and people could probably say this is the wrong way to do it, but it works for me. I like to break down goals into three categories. I call them ultimate, performance, and process. ultimate goal, what’s the dream? What’s your dream if you didn’t give a crap what anybody else thought? Like, it’s just you and me in this room, it’s safe. What do you really want? And then more importantly, the follow -up to that is why do you want

because a lot of people just say it because it sounds good, but really why do you want it? What do you love about it? What would it mean to you at that deep emotional level? Just you, not your family, nobody else. Why is it important to you? Once we establish that, then we get into what we call the performance or the outcome goals. Okay, this year, this season, what do you need to do? What would be a good accomplishment and achievement, whether it’s strength or speed or greens and regulation or whatever the case may be this

that if you did it, it’s gonna get you a little bit closer to that ultimate goal. And so try to have three or four of those, there’s no magic number there, but it has to be something somewhat measurable with some kind of deadline, just so we’re focused on it. And then of course we look at all those performance goals and say, well, what is it gonna take? What’s the recipe? What are the barriers? What do we need to do? And that becomes the process. So I always describe it like, each performance goal is like a plate during

What are the ingredients and recipe you need to make that plate happen? Right? And it may not taste as good as you want it to, but let’s get as close as we can. So what’s the process? Are there physical processes you need to do? That means, you know, deliberate focused practice, three days a week for 30 minutes working on your short game, or is it mental where we need to work on imagery visualization? We need to work on the narrative in our mind, you know, reading your identity statement. What’s the process to get there? And that’s what we focus on the most. And then, you know, to follow that

I have them write them up, you gotta write them down. You gotta type them up, keep them visible. Part of your mental training as I’m sure we’ll talk about is reading your goals daily and then asking yourself every day, what am I gonna do today to get closer?

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (23:57.957)

Again, this is a masterclass in goal setting and peak performance. So I hope you are taking notes and to give an example, I think that will be reflective of where the listeners are in their journey. I’m gonna use it through the lens of me, but you can sub any number. Essentially, if we’re to break down as an example, ultimate performance and process goal. The ultimate goal for me right now is November 13th to shoot sub 90. So I’m very clear on that. My performance goal is greens and regular, I mean, it’s fairways hit. So right now, you my last couple of rounds, I’m two for nine on the front, I’m one for nine on the back. It’s atrocious, so much room for opportunities.

the way we’re gonna reframe it, of course. And my process there is, okay, I’ve got lessons signed up for the second half of August and into September, specifically working on the clubs I use most off the tee box to increase the number of fairways I hit, which then it’s a measurable metric I can keep tabs on, which ultimately should translate to shooting a lower score. Is that one way you would frame

Dr. Jason Novetsky (24:47.17)

Hmm. Yeah, I would frame that. If we’re getting into the nitty gritty, would also maybe have some type of evaluation of your consistency of your pre -shot routines off the tee as well. And tracking, are you left or right when you’re missing? Just to dig deeper into that as part of your process. And quite honestly, if we’re getting a little off track here, but, you know, I’ve worked with, know, talk and got to become.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (24:58.371)

Yep. Love

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (25:09.253)

Please do.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (25:15.01)

decent friends with John Sherman and those guys and to them and others like Fawcett, it’s hit your greens first, right? Maybe the goal should be, if I was coaching you, I would say, maybe the goal should be to have your tee shots give you an opportunity to hit the green on the next shot. Like you can hit the rough as long as you have a shot. Now we’re just talking specific golf here, but you know, cause greens or fairways are harder, but as long as you have a direct line to the green and you can get

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (25:39.727)

So well said.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (25:44.002)

To me, that was a successful drive off the tee.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (25:46.545)

And so I’m so happy you shared that because then it gives you an opportunity for the listener. It’s like, what is actually the priority that’s going to move the needle most? So through further reflection, having an excellent coach in your corner is like, okay, that sounds like I mean, this is you coaching me. It’s great. It’s like, fairway seems like number one, but now through further discussion and learning, maybe it’s actually not as important as greens and regulation. And I can, I’m, you know, as you’re getting to know me, nerdy type A, I love all the stats so I can go and see, this is actually the right priority. So it allows me to course correct. So so happy you shared

Dr. Jason Novetsky (26:15.852)

Yeah, because I just think if you evaluate just fairways, it’d be nice to hit more fairways, which will get you obviously more greens eventually, but you can still reach the green from the rough pretty easily on most courses.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (26:27.097)

Yeah, absolutely. Awesome point. So let’s dig in then to what we’ve kind of alluded to is just this, we are both biased, rightfully so, of this, that the need to have a mental routine, to need to have a mental workout program, if you will, away from the course. And I still to this day think that is the lowest hanging fruit opportunity for any golfer to make fast progress, is the work they do away from the course. Talk us through how you approach

the topic of a mental workout routine and how you begin cultivating and assigning that to your athletes.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (27:02.798)

This is my favorite part. So, you you’ve heard the question before, and so many of your listeners, you how much of this game is mental versus physical, right? And there’s always that comeback. Well, we spend a lot more time more on the physical than we do the mental, even though we say the mental is 50 % or more of the game. Well, when I first heard that, was like, duh, that’s unbelievable. Of course, that’s what we need to be doing, but how do we do that? So then we started researching, well, what would be a mental workout? So for me, and I do it too, I practice what I preach.

So every morning I get up around the same time. I go downstairs, I have a, like an athletic greens type of drink. I get my cup of coffee. I go sit in my living room. I put my noise canceling headphones on and I meditate for at least 10 minutes to start. I read my goals and my identity statement, you know, right on a piece of paper or on my phone. Then I do something called a concentration grid activity, whether it’s on my phone or on a piece of paper.

And then I will also meditate. actually, then I will read a passage from the daily Stoic, speaking of Ryan Holiday. I read my daily Stoic every day. And then I will meditate again using another Stoic app called Stoa, which you can pick up anywhere. I’m not trying to promote these things, but that’s what I do. So I go through my process every day. Now, sometimes I will augment that a little bit. Like if I have a tournament that I’m going to be playing in, I have my club championship coming up this coming weekend.

So I’ll be using a lot of imagery and visualization as well as part of my morning routine. So between my meditations or after one of them, I will sit there and start playing holes. I know the research says sometimes 15, 30 second bursts of visualization, but sometimes I go longer. When I was a college baseball player and I was a division one pitcher, I would visualize a whole game. Once you do that, you can sustain your focus and attention for a long time. So getting back to the mental workout, that’s kind of how I would see

is you have something that you do consistently, a really good habit. Doesn’t have to be as extensive as mine. I’ve been doing this a long time. I would just start small. Hey, can you wake up five minutes earlier tomorrow and jump on an app and do a meditation? Then after a couple of weeks, can you add meditation and visualization? Could you do that in a concentration grid in week three? Could you read your goals, your identity statement? And eventually you have a nice 20 to 30 minute routine every day.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (29:28.034)

that you’re contributing to your mental toughness, your mental resiliency.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (29:31.717)

I love that. I love how you addressed the inevitable next question, which was, what does this look like into practice? Where can somebody start? So thank you for sharing that. That’s outstanding. And I found too, something on, so you and I recording right now, it’ll probably be episode 25 or 26, but on episode 19, Bo Watson, Shannon Shusky in the zone mental training.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (29:38.902)

Yeah, of course.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (29:50.201)

They gave a good feedback too. It’s like if you’re gonna spend five minutes a day, maybe Monday it’s T -box shots, driver, fairway woods, et cetera. Then Tuesday you’re visualizing your irons. Wednesday it’s putting. So that way if you’re looking, if you’re struggling, if you’re someone rather struggling because you don’t have meditation background, you don’t have visualization, the apps are great, but even having one intention or focus for those three, even five minutes goes a long way in giving you somewhere to start, which allows you to feel, see, and experience that progress you’re looking

Dr. Jason Novetsky (30:18.914)

Yeah, I agree. I mean, just start somewhere. You know, we know all the research on atomic habits and, you know, start small, make it easy, make it accessible, right? Stack it on top of something you already do each day and just get the ball rolling.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (30:31.745)

Absolutely. Now I want to circle back to something we discussed earlier, this neutral mindset. We’re going to view it through a different lens though. The growth mindset, everyone listening more or less, I shouldn’t assume, likely heard of the gross growth mindset. Carol Dweck popularizing this term, a wonderful bestselling book that everybody should be reading. When we think of a growth mindset through the lens of an athlete, a competitor, how do you go

not only educating on it, but helping instill the right attitude and habits that support a growth mindset.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (31:02.626)

Well, like you said, we start with educating. First, we got to define our terms, right? What is a growth and a fixed mindset? And we don’t have time to get into all that, but you know, most people listening probably have an idea of what it is, but essentially growth is there’s room for growth and fixed is you believe that things are the way they are and that’s the way they’re going to be. And you’re afraid of looking bad and all those kinds of things. So helping the athlete identify maybe their tendencies. Are they more growth or fixed on a given day? Does it change based on the situation that they’re in?

based on their perception of their skills versus the perception of the challenge that they’re faced with, are they confident in those situations? And helping them understand that if you really do want to grow, it’s going to be really uncomfortable. And you have to be willing to look bad in the process. And also watching your narrative. How are you talking to yourself? Does your voice, does that inner coach limit you in some ways?

versus giving you opportunities to grow. And again, we’re not getting back to being overly positive, but just being realistic and neutral. Like, hey, I probably won’t be the best ever to play this game, but I’m gonna get as close as I possibly can if that’s your goal. Or I wanna be a scratch golfer, but I have to be realistic that it’s gonna take some time, there’s gonna be some setbacks, I’m having a baby, life happens, right? So I’m not gonna let that over identify me. I’m just gonna say, hey, there’s still room for growth here and I gotta be patient

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (32:32.089)

Yeah, well said. I think something to add on is like, there’s this term of recency bias, especially if you’re struggling, you’re coming off of a couple of bad performances where you just totally underperformed and I’m throwing myself in this category today. It’s like, that’s not your identity. Like that doesn’t have to define you. doesn’t have to put a cap on your potential and where you go from here. So knowing that every athlete is prone to a poor performance, a bad day.

What are some of the strategies or perhaps the frameworks you use to help an athlete bounce back from a poor performance?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (33:05.976)

So bouncing back, I believe in self -evaluation. So I ask my athletes to keep a performance journal after they play or perform and answer simple questions. What did you do well today and why? And what could you have done better and what’s your plan to fix it? Basic questions, but it helps them be objective. It also helps them celebrate some success that they may have had, right? Because we have a tendency to go straight to the negative, right? What did we do wrong? We missed the shot.

Left that putt short, we yanked one out of bounds. But I’m pretty sure you did some good things today. So what are they? Let’s make a list and why do you think those things happen? Because if we know why, we can keep doing it. And then what, not what mistakes did you make, but what could you have done better? Like I could have taken a little more time with my routine. I should have backed off when I wasn’t feeling comfortable over that shot. I probably shouldn’t have slammed that club down. So I’m going to start working on my, my patience a little bit and understand how golf is really, really hard.

So just helping them see things from a more, I guess, keep things in perspective and not catastrophize something, right? And then you kind of alluded to it, over identifying yourself based on your performance. I don’t know if you’ve heard of this man, his name’s Brett Ledbetter. He wrote a book with, what’s it called? I’ll have to come back to the book name, but Brett Ledbetter is great. He’s got a bunch of stuff on YouTube. He’s written some books. He’s a big,

coach of coaches, you know, he puts on a lot of seminars and he put out this video and anybody can look it up. It’s called person is greater than the player. And he helps an athlete understand that, hey, in a few years, no one’s going to remember how many points you scored or what your handicap was or what you shot on a given day. You know, when they ask you how you shot, they’re not asking you about your character. They’re asking how you shot, but we think it’s about us, right?

And so he helps his athletes see that what’s more important is who you are as a person and how you handle those situations versus your actual stats. So I think that’s brilliant. And I say that all the time to my athletes, hey, you are more important than the athlete. And we have to let parents remind their kids of that too, all the

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (35:08.325)

That’s incredible.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (35:14.925)

Yeah. that, yeah, wish I had that for those of you listening, I’ll find that link, that video, I’ll put it in the show notes. But I’m, I’m curious though, because the status and what’s word I’m looking for level of athletes you are working with. have an imagination that their identity is very much in mesh in their sport and their success. lot of their self -worth likely comes from their success.

am not nearly that caliber of golfer, but even I have to really have a couple moments with myself to not come home like a grumpy asshole to my family after a bad round. So what are some of the steps for someone listening who does resonate with that? They have a bad day on the course and they are that asshole to their wife, their spouse, their children, their coworkers. How can they begin to diffuse that and detach their identity from their score at the golf course that

Dr. Jason Novetsky (36:05.452)

Yeah, it goes back to the concept of identity that we talked about earlier is like, well, you can have identity as a golfer, but who are you as a husband or a father? And when you leave the golf club, you got to change roles. Like your son or daughter, your dog doesn’t care what you shot that day. And so you have to make sure before you walk in that door, you have to collect yourself and you have to leave whatever you did at the course.

And that’s not easy, not saying it is, but that’s something you have to keep working on if you do struggle over identifying yourself based on how you perform that day. Now, many people don’t. They’re like, you know what, I play golf, I have fun, I’m with my friends, I’m grateful to be outside, grateful to have money to play. When I get home, I don’t care. But I work, like you said, with a lot of competitive people. And so they take their work home with them, they take their sports home with them. And we definitely have conversations about that to make sure

One is not leaking too much into the other. Golf is something you do. It’s not all of who you are. It’s part of who

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (37:11.555)

Yeah, awesome. And I’m curious if feel free to chime in if you have something additional you do something that’s helped me because I struggle with that competitive switch. It’s hard for me to turn off sometimes. But what I have found is I create a trigger the moment I put my clubs in my trunk, and I close my trunk that action that noise is my reminder. Golf is done.

I’m heading back home. Then when I pull into my driveway or my parking complex right now, I take two to three minutes and I just focus on my breath. I’ve already done my well better learned reflection in my notes app. And for those of you who want to see what that looks like, I posted on Instagram every weekend. It’s just exactly how Dr. Nowetzki described that I have the same approach, but I sit there for a couple of minutes. I like to sit there to, in a sense, allow the emotional volume to turn down, to put me back in control of my decisions.

So I can walk in with a smile, detaching from that round. Maybe I’ll come back and review it later, but whoever I’m going to spend time with gets all of me and I am present in that

Dr. Jason Novetsky (38:08.878)

It’s great. mean, I couldn’t say it any better. I mean, that’s a great way to do it, to separate it. I love the idea of slamming the trunk and it’s over. I often talk about a post -shot routine in the same way, that once you put the club back in the bag, that shot’s over, it’s time to start focusing on the next one. So just having that symbolic gesture that symbolizes that. A lot of people talk about, when you walk through the doorframe, you have to make sure that you change roles at that point. But I love the idea of slamming the trunk down

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (38:37.349)

Yeah, and I see a lot of people changing shoes. That could be a good cue, changing your shirt, because you’re down here in Florida and you’re sweating and losing 10 pounds and around. So something visual, experiential like that is awesome. And so now I’m curious, this might come out of left field, but I have to ask you all that you’ve accomplished, all that you’ve learned since your college pitching days, what do you know now that you wish you knew back then that would have helped you?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (38:42.616)

Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (39:01.206)

Probably everything we just talked about. I mean, my story is, you know, I was a very good high school pitcher. When you’re left -handed and you throw pretty hard, it was easy for me. So I had what I now call the curse of talent where it just came too easy. And so I got the opportunity to play division one baseball and kind of a proverbially got punched in the face when I got there because I was getting knocked out of games. I was losing a

I was really emotional and frustrated about it. And so I went to my coach one day and I’m like, I don’t think I belong here. You guys made a big mistake. Like, clearly I’m not good enough. Like, what do I need to do here? And my coach just kind of laughed. And one of my senior captains was there and he’s like, no, physically you’re fine, but yeah, you do need to work on the mental game. like, what does that even mean? This was 1988. There’s no internet. There’s no YouTube.

And my coach, it was either him or his son, handed me the book called The Mental Game of Baseball by Harvey Dorfman. And I looked at him funny, like, really, you’re giving me a book to read? Like, I’m an 18 year old college student, I don’t want to read anymore books. So he said, just, you know, read a couple of pages, come back tomorrow, let’s just chat about it. So, okay. So reluctantly went back and started reading it. I look up three hours have gone by and like, wow,

I’m not the only one struggling with this. There’s a lot of athletes that have had these same struggles and there’s some actual tools or different ways to think about it. You know, how to prepare better routines, pre -pitch routines, post -pitch routines, know, visualization, breathing techniques, things we can do, self -talk that can help us have more fun and play better. So I started working on it and I started learning about the mental game and eventually changed my degree to psychology.

And when my playing days were over, went back to grad school and kind of here we are. So I learned all that stuff and I wished I would have known it before I even started. Yeah. But it was a gradual progression.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (41:00.515)

Yeah, think what’s I hear you. think what’s so cool about your journey too and one of the many reasons you’re so great at what you do is like you have such a strong background working with kids. So you have to speak simplistically, relatably, example story rich conversation to get your points across and I that’s what’s attracted me to your work as I’ve gotten to know and listen to you more. I think it’s really important

Dr. Jason Novetsky (41:09.41)

Well, thank

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (41:27.053)

Some of these concepts, like, you know, we talk from a deliberate practice to neutral mindset to visualization and imagery. Yeah, there’s a depth of science that we could get lost in for years exploring, but how do we make it tangible for the, you know, the golfer just breaking a hundred who wants to feel competitive and not left out when he plays with his buddies or his business partners. So thank you for doing

Dr. Jason Novetsky (41:46.454)

Yeah, yeah, I appreciate that. You know, my background before sports psych was a school psychologist. So I work with kids with special needs. I worked with kids with challenging behavior. I did a lot of work in the autism field. And you have to learn how to speak what we call in education, developmentally appropriate. And so you have to be very careful how you’re coming across to make sure that what you’re laying down, people are picking up. And so just by habit and routine and exercise.

and repetitions in this, think that’s helped me a lot. Being an educator for 25 years as a school psych, and then coaching young kids as well, you just learn how to speak their language. And it’s just a skill over time you develop.

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (42:29.637)

Absolutely. So to get you out of here on this the majority of our listeners mid 80s to mid 90s golfers, they’ve got years of experience. They’ve dabbled in all sorts of swing coaches. They’re aware that there’s a gold mine of opportunity if they start prioritizing the mental game. Where would you direct them from our conversation or otherwise as to what to begin focusing on to see results on the course?

Dr. Jason Novetsky (42:38.893)

Ahem.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (42:59.202)

Well, I think it’s a combination of a lot of things we talked about. Obviously, if you’re just starting out, the physical training is going to be more important. You have to know how to hold the club. You got to know how to swing it. You got to understand a little bit of course management and things like that, how to work the ball around the green. However, I would say the first mental thing we can do on the course is detach yourself from the outcomes and stay true to your process, whether that’s a pre -shot routine or the fields you’re looking for in your swing.

and evaluate yourself on those things versus your score. Because if you do those things well, as a byproduct, the scores will come down. But if we’re always thinking about, well, this is my four shot on this hole, my round is trashed, I’m never gonna break 90 today, well then you’ve lost focus because you’re so focused on an outcome, which is something you have really no control over at that

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (43:49.221)

So happy I asked you that question. Brilliant answer. I appreciate you sharing that. And where can all of the listeners go to learn more from you, about you, and especially about how to work with

Dr. Jason Novetsky (43:51.457)

Okay.

Dr. Jason Novetsky (44:00.012)

Yeah, so my website’s probably the easiest place to go. It’s champmindset .com. It’s champmindset .com and all the links to socials are on there as well. I’m on Instagram at championmindsetgroup. Always look for the little Eye of the Tiger logo for everything I have. That’s kind of the symbol we use. I also have an associate now. Coach Kelsey’s been working with me for about two years now. She’s a rising star in the field of sports performance psychology. She’s a former college volleyball player. So I have a lot of my athletes now that are

Gravitating towards her as well when they’re starting out because she’s so relatable as

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (44:34.789)

Outstanding. Well, thank you so much for stopping by to share all of your wisdom. I had way too much fun. I don’t want to keep you too long, but thank you so much for your

Dr. Jason Novetsky (44:42.86)

My pleasure. Thanks for having me, Paul. I appreciate

Paul Salter | The Golf Hypnotherapist (44:44.837)

Absolutely and for those of you listening, thank you for tuning into another episode I know you got a tremendous amount of this episode So it would mean the world to me dr Novetsky if you share this episode with a fellow golfing buddy And let me be frank go listen to it again There is a gold mine of knowledge and skills in here that will help you transform your game And if you haven’t done so already it takes 30 seconds to leave a genuine rating and review on Apple podcasts Spotify

or wherever you are listening to today’s episode. Thank you again for listening. Have a fantastic rest of your day and I’ll catch you in the next episode.

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PAUL SALTER

Paul Salter - known as The Golf Hypnotherapist - is a High-Performance Mindset Coach who leverages hypnosis and powerful subconscious reprogramming techniques to help golfers of all ages and skill levels overcome the mental hazards of their minds so they shoot lower scores and play to their potential.