The Zone...Step 2

I think the next part of getting in to the zone has to do with our attitude. A lot of people like to give lip-service to the whole concept of attitude, and what it is. My definition of attitude here is how we see what we are doing.
This is very closely tied in with our ability to be non-judgmental. If I have a great attitude, and I take my results as an opportunity for learning, then it is very easy to be non-judgmental.
The more I trust my long term commitment, and ability, the easier it will be to not judge the results.
The opposite of this would be feeling like, "the next shot I have to play is the last one of its kind that I will ever get to play. If I do not hit this next shot perfectly then all is lost, and I will not be able to recover." Another common thought on the golf course is, "This shot could mean the match!"
The truth is, yes, that shot could mean the match. Also, that shot might not be for the match. In golf we do not know, and all we can control is our execution of that shot.
In "The Inner Game of Tennis," Timothy Gallwey has a chapter called, "Games People Play." He says that if you watch the game, you will notice that there are a lot of games people are playing out on the tennis court besides tennis.
Some guys are playing to look good, and he calls this, "image-o." Like Bingo, but it is about our image. Some people are playing for health, others for friendship, and others for pure recreation. Some are playing because they want to win, and winning at anything is good enough for them.
There are lots of mixtures of all these games as well, and everyone has their own reasons for playing. This is where our attitudes will most determine how we feel, and what we are playing for.
He wrote about two games that people play that seem to me to be the best.
Fun-o and Learn-o.
If you are playing for pure enjoyment or pure learning, than being non-judgmental, is a piece of cake. Our chances for getting in the zone increase, and our ability to learn increases.
Growing up, my whole desire for playing was to learn. I loved making improvement in golf, and I enjoyed playing. The kids I used to play with made fun of me, because I stood on the range and hit balls for hours. I hated playing, because I could only hit it one time before I had to walk for five minutes. Four hours later I would only have hit 80 shots, and I could have done that in ten minutes on the driving range!
After reading this book, I remembered that I can go to the driving range and just hit balls.
I do not have to be so judgmental, and when I get in the zone, it really becomes fun.
So, take a look at why you are playing, and how that effects your ability to improve.

There is a step three coming soon. Go practice step one and two, and see how you do.
Decide why you are there, and then go see it, feel it, and let it go.