Hey Fellow Golfer - 

Thank you for reading this week’s More Pars Than Bogeys Newsletter. If you find it valuable, could you forward this email to a fellow golfer?

Thank you.

You can click here to read the online version of this week’s newsletter. 

And be sure to catch up on this week’s podcast episode:

• #137: Elite Performance Begins Where Indecision Ends: The Cost of Indecision

• #138: [Inside the Mind] Dr. Bob Winters: Building an Elite Golf Mindset for Peak Performance

P.S. Ready to finally take action and accelerate results? Apply for one-on-one mindset and performance coaching with me here. 

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Somewhere in your life right now, indecision is costing you.

Not in a dramatic, obvious way.

But in the subtle erosion of confidence.

In the quiet drain of mental energy.

In the tension you carry into every shot, meeting, and conversation.

It’s the 168-yard approach shot where you’re stuck between a hard 8-iron and a smooth 7. You step in. You step out. You recheck the wind. You second-guess the yardage. You think about the bunker short-right.

And when you finally swing, you’re not committed.

The ball finishes exactly where indecision lives — short, tentative, defensive.

Or maybe it’s not on the course.

• Maybe it’s the conversation you’ve been avoiding in your marriage.

• The hire you know you need to make in your business.

• The coach you know you need to invest in.

• The change you’ve felt in your gut for months — maybe years.

You tell yourself you need more time.

More clarity.

More certainty.

But here’s the truth you already know: Indecision is not confusion. It is avoidance dressed up as analysis.

And every day you delay, you pay.

In this newsletter, you’ll learn:

• Why indecision quietly destroys performance on the course and in business

• The neuroscience behind why “waiting” feels so exhausting

• How hesitation creates tension — and tension kills execution

• A simple reframe that will help you build confidence through action

By the end of this, I want you to identify the one decision you’ve been avoiding — and make it.

Not someday.

Today.

Let’s tee off!

High Performers Don’t Collapse Because They Make Bad Decisions

High performers collapse because of the accumulating toll indecision has on them.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell built his career making life-and-death decisions in environments where certainty simply did not exist. He developed what became known as the 40–70 Rule:

Make decisions when you have between 40% and 70% of the information.

Less than 40%? You’re guessing.

More than 70%? You’re stalling.

Waiting for certainty kills momentum. Decisiveness builds clarity.

This rule applies directly to:

• Choosing a shot under pressure

• Leaving a stagnant business partnership

• Raising your prices

• Investing in golf mindset coaching

• Committing to golf hypnosis or hypnotherapy for golf

• Finally pursuing scratch-level performance

You do not need perfect information to move forward.

You need enough information to act.

Clarity is not a prerequisite for action.

Clarity is the result of action.

The Neuroscience of Why Indecision Exhausts You

Let’s talk about what’s actually happening inside your brain.

Your working memory — the conscious, decision-making part of your mind — has limited capacity. Research suggests you can hold only a small number of meaningful “chunks” of information at one time.

Now consider what happens when you refuse to decide.

You’re simultaneously holding:

• Option A

• Option B

• Risks of A

• Risks of B

• Financial implications

• Emotional consequences

• Past experiences

• Future predictions

• What other people might think

Your brain becomes overloaded.

This is known as cognitive load. When too much information competes for attention, mental performance declines. Focus weakens. Emotional regulation suffers. Execution becomes less effective.

On the golf course, that overload shows up as mechanical swings, rushed routines, and tight tempo. In business, it shows up as overwhelm, procrastination, and reactive decision-making.

But it goes even deeper.

There’s a psychological phenomenon called the Zeigarnik Effect — unfinished tasks and unresolved decisions remain active in your mind. They loop in the background, consuming cognitive energy until they are resolved.

Indecision keeps tabs open. Decision closes them.

Think about your mind like a web browser with 25 tabs running at once. Everything slows down. Nothing functions optimally. You’re not broken — you’re overloaded.

When you decide, you close the tab.

Energy returns.

Focus sharpens.

Presence increases.

If you’re serious about taking your business and self to the next level, click here to schedule a Mindset Coaching Discovery Call to learn how I can help you achieve your potential and scale both your impact and income.

Indecision → Hesitation → Tension → Poor Performance

Let’s connect this directly to your golf game.

You stand over the ball and you haven’t fully decided.

Your brain is juggling:

• Score

• Swing mechanics

• Hazards

• Expectations

• Past mistakes

• Desired outcome

Because you haven’t committed, hesitation creeps in.

Hesitation creates tension.

Tension alters tempo.

Tempo alters contact.

Contact alters outcome.

You don’t chunk that wedge because your technique disappeared. You chunk it because your nervous system is activated.

The same pattern exists in business…

When you delay making the hard call:

• You ruminate.

• You second-guess.

• You replay conversations in your head.

• Stress accumulates.

• Creativity diminishes.

• You bring that internal chaos to your team, your family, and your golf round.

You do not compartmentalize indecision.

You carry it.

Indecision Erodes Self-Trust

This is the most destructive consequence.

Every time you avoid a decision you know needs to be made, you send yourself a subtle but powerful message:

“I don’t trust myself.”

And identity is built through repetition.

If you repeatedly hesitate, your identity becomes one of hesitation.

• You say you want to break 80.

• You say you want to scale your company.

• You say you want to strengthen your marriage.

But your actions demonstrate delay.

This incongruency creates internal friction.

And internal friction destroys performance.

This is why golf mental coaching and golf hypnosis go beyond surface-level strategy. The work is not simply about better routines or more positive self-talk. It’s about dismantling the subconscious patterns that keep you stuck in indecision.

Indecision is learned.

And it can be unlearned.

The Hidden Fear: What If It Works?

Many high achievers are not paralyzed by fear of failure.

They’re paralyzed by fear of success.

• What if you do become scratch?

• What if your business does scale?

• What if you outgrow your current circle?

Success requires evolution.

It requires letting go of the identity of “almost there.”

Some people are more comfortable talking about the pursuit than they are stepping into the result.

Indecision allows you to remain in the story of striving without fully risking transformation.

But at what cost?

The Reframe That Changes Everything

When you make a decision and act, you are not gambling.

You are gathering data.

But when you stay stuck in analysis, you gather nothing.

• You build resentment.

• You build anxiety.

• You build stagnation.

Confidence is not built through certainty.

It is built through committed action.

You become someone who trusts himself by acting like someone who trusts himself.

Final Thought

I want you to pause and answer these questions honestly:

• What decision have I been postponing?

• What am I pretending not to know?

• What am I afraid will happen if I decide?

• What is the cost of staying where I am for six more months?

• What would my most confident self do right now?

Write down the decision.

Set a deadline.

Not someday.

Today.

Make the call.

Send the email.

Schedule the discovery conversation.

Commit to the move.

If you’re serious about elevating your performance — whether through golf mindset coaching, golf hypnosis, or hypnotherapy for golf — the first step is not another tactic.

It’s a decision.

Indecision is draining you.

Decision will free you.

Close the loop.

Then bring your full self — clear, decisive, and committed — to the course, to your business, and to your life.

If you’re serious about getting out of your own way,  click here to schedule a Mindset Coaching Discovery Call and let’s talk about how we can build the golfer—and the man—you know you’re capable of becoming.

Your Next Step

Every newsletter will conclude with a suggested action step and further resources on the topic we discussed.

After reading today’s newsletter, take action: make the decision and commit to it. 

If you have any questions, feel free to DM me on Instagram (@thegolfhypnotherapist) or send me an email directly: [email protected]

After reading today’s newsletter, I want you to take the time to complete each step in my goal-setting process. Then, share it with me via email or on social media.

Thank you for reading today’s newsletter.

If you found it valuable, share it with a fellow golfer ready to take their game to the next level.

Until next time,

Paul

P.S. What did you think of today’s newsletter? Reply back / drop a comment below to let me know.

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