In my youth I listened to baseball on the radio and imagined what it was like to be Mickey Mantle. Today, technology has grown the capacity to view even the subtle nuances of athletic performances, and the media digs deeper for details afterward. Seems as little is left to imagination— or not? Despite technology and science, we do not have total access to the athlete’s mindset as these processes are private, subjective and, in some part, out of conscious awareness.

As the world gets smaller and technology finds the seams of private lives, perhaps we are getting the deeper impressions of the true mindset, a structure that envelopes the athlete’s competitive mindset, as well as his other roles. Further, maybe the time of separation of these roles and the willingness of psychology to segment experience is coming to a crossroads. While it is the nature of the ego to compartmentalize, the arrow of development is toward excellence and increasing complexity. This quality is the fullness and richness of development that is available to all of life’s roles.

I have developed a simple model for this end (see figures 1 and 2), so that the energy used in time and space is aligned with fundamental principles of character, achievement, and relationships. Instead of the athletic mindset being segmented, it is part of a comprehensive mindset that encompasses all experience. After all, we are always developing our character, always moving towards goals, and our relationships are a continuous and dynamic process.

Golf has offered two examples of compartmentalization in full view (John Daly and, recently, Tiger Woods) where the arrow of achievement seemed to be influenced by conflicts in the fundamentals of character and relationships. While it is not my place to judge, I do want to say that the reason we do not argue this conflict at length is because potential cannot truly be measured. We will never know what else Woods or Daly could have achieved…. Potential exists at the fundamental level and the process is steeped in this. We can measure results and use the tool of hindsight, but vision is about "proactive hindsight." It is about playing out decisions based on the principles that deliver consequences, not some arbitrary measure based in politics or personality. We are given this gift of vision, but often it is clouded by the trappings of ego. Pleasure, entertainment, adrenaline all feed the ego. What is worthwhile is not something short-lived or that will fade with time. These principle-based products then become the building blocks of an even greater vision.

Any ego trapped in the manipulations of deceit and malice cannot be fully present. If you are giving less than yourself, there is a part of you that is affected by this incompleteness, for you are not aligned with the power of integrity. Science and psychology continue to grow, but currently do not have the answers when it comes to the matters of the heart. I suggest that our passion is weakened by lies and deceit hidden in the heart. Without this fuel, we are always less than…

Forgiveness is powerful; making amends is life long for trust can be lost in a moment. But we can never measure potential lost.

Thinking of the mindset as a whole structure of character, relationships, and achievement will certainly be a healthier and more fulfilling path—and leave fewer tragedies in its wake.