By the time we feel a surge of strong negative emotion (anger, anxiety, nervousness, fear), we’ve already allowed an unwanted thought stream to continue for way too long. We’ve piled up story after unhappy story to a point where our chances of quickly stopping the momentum and power of its strong emotional steam is slim at best (much like trying to stop a train that is racing out of control at 500 miles per hour dead in its tracks).  As obvious as it seems, the best way to control the energy of any negative thought stream is long before the momentum grabs hold and the emotion is felt. Our priority, then, before we hit any shot is to get into a positive state of mind, at which time we give ourselves the best opportunity to sustain the speed of the engine and move it mindfully along the tracks.

-Spirit of Golf