Breaking the 300 and 800 Mental Barriers in Bowling
By Jeffrey Hardwick

Would you like to have multiple 300 games? Do you desire to break 800?

If you answered yes to both of these questions, then you are going to learn the techniques I shared with National Champions, All Americans and Player of the Year bowlers. I was fortunate to work with the Wichita State Bowling Teams for over 10 years helping them overcome their mental limitations.

The more I talked one on one with these elite collegiate bowlers, I discovered one technique that worked so well, that some bowlers went out the same night and bowled a 300 game or broke their personal series record. When I would discuss with them about their games, they were very passionate about bowling. We would talk about how they got started in bowling, major accomplishments, what their goals were and if they intended to go on the Pro Tour. The bowlers would talk 90% of time during our sessions simply because of a technique I discovered that would reveal their mental limitations.

Most bowlers would love to have a perfect 300 game and break the 800 series barrier. The bowlers I worked with definitely had the skills to do it and in fact, many of them had already bowled the perfect game. The potential was there and it was my goal to find out how to move them to the next level. What I started doing was asking them questions. Its important to point out here that asking the right questions is the secret to breaking through the mental limitations you may have reaching your goals.

When the bowlers were discussing their games I would ask them what their goals were and why they had not reached them yet. Simply by asking the why questions revealed the reasons behind their limitations. The more reasons they gave me, the stronger the belief was for them. Its like having legs on a table. The more legs you have the stronger the support is for the table. We discovered along the way that most of their beliefs holding them back were based on the Bowling World's perspective of the sport. Unfortunately they chose to believe these limitations which hindered their performances.

How can you apply this simple technique to breaking through your mental limitations? You need to start asking yourself the right questions and be open to accepting new beliefs. Just because professional bowlers have a belief that limits them, does not mean you have to adopt the same belief even if its your favorite bowler on Tour.

Why haven't you had more 300 games? Now I want you to be honest with yourself. Have you truly put in the practice to reach this goal? Do you see yourself bowling a perfect game? How do you see yourself in the last three frames? Are you relaxed and confident? Why not create your own new beliefs regarding multiply 300 games? One time I asked an All American bowler what his goal was for 300 games within the next year. He said he never really thought about it. So he decided his goal would be four 300 games that year. Guess what happened? He had two of them within the first month and had more than four that year. What is your goal this year for 300 games? How about 800 series?

This is one technique that worked very well for bowlers who had never broken 800. I told them NOT to set a goal to reach 800. Why? We talked about how having 800 as a goal is like touching a ceiling. It was a limiting goal. I asked them to set a much higher goal like 825 because if they bowled a 812 and didn't reach 825 they did however break 800. Does that make sense? Here is another goal you can accomplish. How many 800 series do you want this year? Once you decide how many you want, your mind will discover a way to do it.

My recommendation for you is to create your own goals and make them really big. Make them so big that you will be the first person ever to reach them. You are in control of what limitations you set on yourself. Why not free yourself to bowl the perfect game and surpass the 800 barrier? Your mind will work for you or against you. Begin to ask yourself the right questions that will set you free. You can be one question away from setting new personal records, so start asking.

The choice is up to you.

Visit Mental Bowling Coach for tips, strategies and secrets to help you with your mental game. Subscribe to "Mental Game Bowling Secrets" weekly newsletter. If you need one on one help with your game, contact Coach Hardwick for a mental game coaching session.

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