PRINCIPLE I - Approach with Reason

REASON: Intellect; the faculty of understanding/inferring/deducing

Ask questions. Ask questions within yourself. What is my approach to the game? Is it focus or confidence? Maybe a blend of both.
Often our view, as player or audience, is enriched with passion. Passion is good. But passion controlled and reason embraced is also a powerful approach.
To reason within the construct of athleticism is to self analyze. It is to examine one's technique and endeavor to enhance it. If my Swing is off I seek to improve it and there by improve Contact.

Failure in Execution is a Good Thing. Maybe not all Good, but good at least in the sense that it is an excellent starting point for improvement. First one must avoid harsh judgement and frustration. Embrace that which is suggested to you by others only by listening. Not judging. If another has a suggestion then assess its validity. It may be incorrect but discovering it to be incorrect is still to advance your understanding of your Own Technique.
If I miss a tackle and a Touchdown is scored it is, in a sense, a Failure. But it is what it is. You cannot change a play which already has happened. You can only control your approach and action to the NOW; the event which is currently before you. To linger on an imperfection is not improving. To examine, within the approach of reason, is to improve. And approaching each play this way is to form consistent/ongoing Growth.

In Golf, this approach is best examined. It is the 18th hole and I have just hit an awful Drive off the Tee Box. I have had an excellent round and I am eager to make Par to close it out. The Drive bounces into the rough, and yes, frustration has veered its ugly head. I wish to reach the Green in two strokes. My ambition drives me to try a difficult shot onto the green from the rough. Not likely to be done, but my feelings about the awful Drive linger and I pull for another shot. It is a shank- and I have an 80 yard Chip Shot ahead of me from the Rough Again. Damn. Frustration is building; Failure is apparent. But what failure? On in 3 was not my intention but it is my situation. If I approach this 80 yard Chip Shot still Lingering on the two previous failed shots I may clunk the third shot and Par is far more likely unattainable. What do I do? I disregard the "What If" and focus on the "What Is". I set my feet. I clear my head. I practice and recall my approach swing to bring her near the pin. Par is possible. But only possible if I recognize the NOW. I practice the swing. Crisp. I am Calm. I step to the ball. A thought to those past shots and a thought to the potential for my par. What do I do? I step back. I practice swing again. I CLEAR MY HEAD of what was and what might be. I step up. A glance at the Pin and back to the Ball. I swing. My eyes locked on the ball- the Clubs Contact- and Crisp contact. A bounce and roll......a ten Foot putt. Possible- but like every shot in Golf- there is no complete certainty. I set up for my Putt. Practice swings feel good- the slope seems correctly read. I Putt- it rolls- and an inch to the left. I miss. Yes a hint of Frustration. But.....It is what it is. I tap in my FIVE. Disappointment? Sure- that is unavoidable. But I must too ask myself- did my missteps on any particular Shot effect the next shot? Yes and No. A thought comes to about how I may Approach my next round. I will take it one shot at a time. The Score counts- it always will- but within myself the approach and the improvement is also of Great Value. Just take her One Shot at a time. Analysis is fine during the game- and necessary. Passion also has its place. But Focus On the Now is a standard and Virtue of high Quality.
By an approach through reason I have endeavored to improve my game and hopefully therby improve my score.
Like the Shank and missed tackle before it, failure will lead to frustration and insecurity but to be in the Now (not the Past nor the Future) can certainly be a road towards Improvement.