Scottie knows golf…and mental health

As a life-long avid sports fan, I have appreciated the talents of great athletes in a multitude of sports over the years. I have admired athletes at the top of their fields such as Wayne Gretzky in hockey, Michael Jordan in basketball, Tom Brady in football and Tiger Woods in golf.

As entertaining as these Hall of Famers were when performing in their respective sports, they were not very exciting to listen to in interviews. To be fair to the icons who I mentioned, with a few exceptions interviews with athletes are consistently comprised of cliches and banalities and are sorely lacking in insights and honesty.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to hear several thoughtful and candid comments in a recent news conference by no less than the top golfer on the planet. Even better for the purposes of this blog, his comments spoke to fundamental issues related to mental health. I will focus on Scottie Scheffler’s unusual interview in the following sections.

Putting goal achievement in a proper perspective

Mr. Scheffler received some pushback for stating that although he enjoys winning golf tournaments it is not a major source of fulfilment. He noted that shortly after winning a tournament he has shifted to preparing for the next tournament. Some observers criticized him for apparently diminishing the significance of those tournaments which he was fortunate enough to win.

As a psychologist, I commend him for putting goal achievement in proper perspective. That is, he indicated that goal achievement is a source of enjoyment for him but not a major source of fulfilment.

This view fits with the proper way to view goal achievement to enhance happiness and mental health. Although achieving goals can lead to enjoyment, excitement and even elation, the effects are temporary. The process of hedonic adaptation means that the boost to one’s mood diminishes quickly after achieving a goal. So, Scottie is right not to rely on goal achievement as a major source of fulfilment.

Focusing on what brings fulfilment

In addition to saying that winning tournaments does not bring him fulfilment, Mr. Scheffler then told people what does bring him fulfilment—his relationships with his wife and young son. This view fits with one of the most robust research findings in psychology—that close relationships are the cornerstones of happiness, fulfilment and mental health.

Having said that, I did not take his comments to imply that close relationships are the only contributor to happiness, fulfilment and mental health. After stating that winning golf tournaments had a limited effect on his well-being, he elaborated that he finds the activity of playing golf stimulating and that he enjoys spending a lot of time doing it. This view fits with another well-established piece of research—that engaging in challenging pursuits known as ‘mastery activities’ also contributes to happiness, fulfilment and mental health.

Goal achievement versus goal pursuit as contributors to fulfilment

I thought it was striking that Scottie said that winning golf tournaments did not bring him fulfillment. He notably did not say that playing golf, in tournaments or otherwise, was not fulfilling. This distinction illustrates the relative contribution of goal achievement versus goal pursuit as contributors to fulfilment.

Pursuing goals based on mastery activities has much greater impact on happiness and fulfillment than does the achievement of goals. As I mentioned, achieving goals can lead to significant positive effects on one’s mood and the moments when we experience these positive feelings are often memorable. However, as I mentioned, the boost to one’s mood is temporary so we should not rely on achieving goals as a major contributor to our happiness and fulfilment.

Two keys to happiness and fulfilment

If you follow Scottie Scheffler’s lead and focus on nurturing your close relationships and engaging in mastery activities—preferably while pursuing goals—you will be targeting two keys to happiness and fulfilment.

Bask in elation when you achieve goals. Just make sure to follow Scottie’s advice not to depend on these achievements as major sources of fulfilment.

May you focus on the keys to happiness and fulfilment,

-Dr. Pat