I watched the final round of the Masters last weekend and couldn’t help but notice how Phil Mickelson kept smiling. It wasn’t just after a good shot, either. He often kept a smile on his face the entire time while walking to his next shot.
(Photo not from the Masters in Augusta.)
It made me wonder whether this was a strategy suggested by his sports psychologist, one designed to help him stay relaxed in a high-choke situation.
His smile in the midst of intense competition reminded me of legendary dirt biker Malcolm Smith, whose prowess in a variety of motorcycle events and ever-present grin were chronicled in the all-time classic motorcycle movie, On Any Sunday.
There is research demonstrating that by deliberately smiling — putting your facial muscles in a grin position — you can often trigger feelings of happiness, assuming, of course, that your intent is sincere. Smiles, like tears, can be associated with a wide range of emotions.
So while I’ve not yet tried it in any athletic competition, I’ve been trying to trigger a smile whenever I’m aware that my head chatter has drifted into fretting or worrying about something in the future. It’s a step beyond Eckhart Tolle’s observation: “One day you may catch yourself smiling at the voice in your head, as you would smile at the antics of a child. This means that you no longer take the content of your mind all that seriously, as your sense of self does not depend on it.”
Rather than waiting for my silent watcher to trigger this internal smile — which typically doesn’t happen but once in a while — I’m skipping right to the smile.
The result is a pleasant little rush, most often flavored with some gratitude. Example: Sonuvabitch, I forgot I have to do X for client Y. But I have to also get the fricking Z done and then… Oh, I’m fretting. [Forced Smile] I love my work. And I’m lucky to have a lot of interesting shit going on in my life right now instead of being bored or depressed. So I’ll get to those to-dos when I get to them but for right now, I’m just going enjoy the taste and warmth of this cup of coffee.