Investment in Loss

Investment in loss is a wonderful tool for anyone wanting to improve. It’s about as important as it gets and although the concept is somewhat common sense-ish, it’s good to keep it in mind when heading out the door. In it’s most naked form, investment in loss is dedicating yourself to the learning process. It’s the ability to practice what you want to learn and to not revert to the habits you are trying to break. This can be used for any type of pursuit or change in life.

For me, investing in loss is giving in to constant periods of rebuilding where I know that I am going to get worse for a while before making any sort of improvement. But, if I trust the change then any amount of time spent going backwards is worth it in the long run.

Currently, I have a swing that works on certain levels. In the long run, these aren’t the levels I want to be playing at, so I could go out there every day and use my current swing and perhaps get down to a low single digit or even a scratch player, but I would hit an eventual wall after that. However, if I allow myself to only focus on the new swing I am trying to learn, I might be horrible for the next couple of months but the long term improvement will be the ability to raise myself to the next level. What I have to do in the meantime is force myself to follow my new swing models and to do my best to not revert to my old habits.

This isn’t as easy as it sounds, though, and can take a good bit of humility to make a large change. It’s tempting, for example, to revert on the range when everyone around you is hitting crispy iron shots and all I’m getting is a face-full of mud; or on the links when I’m playing with someone new and find myself shooting 94 on an easy course. But, without these periods nothing changes. Improvement is found through investment and a lot of that investment is in loss.

Looking back, I can see a pattern emerging from my practice to date. Since I started actually playing rounds back in September I go through spells of hitting the ball really well then periods of performance droughts. These are always hand in hand with swing thoughts that I am working on. I’ll be in “play mode” and go out and shoot some decent scores like what happened in late January to early February. Then, I’ll spend some time with a coach and have a whole new set of mechanics to work on and won’t be able to hit the ball for a few weeks either on the course or the range. At first, I was really upset by this as it felt like I had gotten significantly worse, but I’ve come to understand that these are building periods and without them I would have majorly plateaued at some point. You have to take the good with the bad and keep an open mind for future results.

I’ve heard some people say that you have swing thoughts on the range but not on the course. In keeping true to investment in loss, I think you need to bring a thought with you to the course and that thought should be to stick with your guns and to not revert to an old habit. If you don’t bring any thoughts to your actual game and only work on the range then it’s going to take a lot longer to actually see change as your brain will instinctively revert to what works. So, unless you are in a major competition and HAVE to perform well that specific day, bring your new swing to the table accompanied by a swing thought about not reverting. Seems like this would be the case for learning anything, if you want the new system to work when you need it most then bring it to the table in those situations.

Investing in loss goes hand in hand with one of the main tenants of Deliberate Practice: to constantly be working on weaknesses. Working on weaknesses is inherently frustrating. It’s not what you are good at, so has probably never been fun to practice in the first place. But, what’s the good in being a boxer with an amazing right hook but absolutely no jab? Or being a broker who’s only allowed to invest in index funds? Or a spring board diver who can only twist? One trick ponies never make it too far. Being willing to invest in your weaknesses and allowing yourself to look bad for periods of time are keys to investing in loss which is a key to improving. It’s only really a loss if you fail to learn from the experience.

Today I crossed the 2,500 hour mark. One quarter of the way.

15 Responses to "Investment in Loss"

Williamevanl says:

February 20, 2012 at 8:16 pm

One of my favorite blog posts. It’s important to realize that you can get pretty far with what you currently have but that it won’t serve you in the long haul for your goals overall.

That’s one of the damning things about golf, you do get by and get better with crap but you hit a wall and you have to be willing to suck for a while in order to abandon something you’ve gotten quite good at.

It’s a very testing experience to go from hitting a little pull fade (which you get pretty good with) to refusing to play it in an attempt to start hitting a push draw. It likely means you miss everything right throughout the transition. Anyway, well said and good insight.
Samuel Morua says:

February 20, 2012 at 11:35 pm

Thanks Dan for this inspiring post! Just felt like this last week, did a small tweak to my swing and performance dropped significantly. It is good to have insight from someone so dedicated to his training.

Keep up the good work, and the good blog posts!
Brandon says:

February 21, 2012 at 6:58 am

Nice Blog Dan! I never thought of investing in a loss to yeild huge dividends!

You must get worse to progress. And by taking it one step at a time andd realizing that if you wade your way through the storm, everything will end up for the better!

Like you say, everything comes in Tides.

Cheers,

Bran
kyle says:

February 21, 2012 at 8:39 am

Absolutely right. Something that helps keep me on task in this regard is adjusting my perception of what each round of golf is for. Meaning that if my overall goal is having a consistent reliable swing that will allow me to become a sub-par player then whatever score I post is only relevant inasmuch as it relates to that goal. So the question becomes, “am I going out to shoot a good score today? Or am I going out to work on my swing in a round, observing how well I perform certain mechanics under pressure so that I can score even BETTER a year from now?” As a relative beginner and amateur I view the rounds I play as a testing ground and really nothing more. The goal is to control the ball not to manage your misses on every shot. You hear a lot of pros talk about how they played rounds without looking at the leader board and by the end of the round found themselves to be at the top. I think approaching your game in this manner (except on a larger scale) can be beneficial too. If you work on improving, your scores will eventually reflect that. Not too long ago I was going out and hitting a lot of greens in regulation, with some pretty decent birdie chances, but I was accomplishing that with smoke and mirrors, because at the same time I couldn’t hit anything longer than a 7 iron with out hooking it or pulling it severely. Plus I couldn’t effectively execute a bump and run. So while breaking 80, even in this way, is still significant, in the larger picture, in some ways, in amounts to nothing more than luck. Luck that I didn’t get the shots I couldn’t hit. They say golf is marathon not a sprint. This goes for a career as well. So take the long view, and keep your eye on the prize.
Marlon says:

February 21, 2012 at 10:03 am

Thank you so much, Dan, for posting this. I’m trying to follow this principle in my own work. It’s hard because it goes against long conditioning.

My brain wants to “make sure” I come out a superb musician (that’s what I’m pursuing), and so it pushes me to perform adequately in the present so it has the “data” to back this target up. I have to consciously remind myself that chipping away at my weaknesses and listening closely are far more likely to actually get me to being superb.

Kyle also said it very well in his comment above.
Simon says:

February 21, 2012 at 10:23 am

I can only repeat, great post! Just in the first two or so paragraphs, it’s not so clear what this “investment in loss” actually is, but apart from that, a very good point!
Roberto says:

February 21, 2012 at 1:13 pm

Printed
Wrote in red: to be read before practice
Attached on the wall above the golf bag

Thanks Dan!

Roberto
cdvillasenor says:

February 21, 2012 at 3:31 pm

I think that this is where most recreational golfers get hung up. It’s hard to give up strokes when you don’t play very often and it’s hard to make lasting changes if you don’t work with someone on a regular basis. I hope that everyone who wants to improve in golf (or anything for that matter) find someone to help and then have the determination to get through the performace trough that is sure to follow. Good post, Dan.
Tony Lawrence says:

February 22, 2012 at 1:16 am

I love this post. But I love the comments it attracted even more.

It shows there are intelligent golfers out there. Sometimes, at my club, I have begun to doubt that.

So many bad players seem to (want to) believe that their score reflects their technique. Good score equals good technique. Good players, though, know that you can scramble a good score with an off-swing. Good players are contantly trying to modify their swings. It’s in their nature to chase perfection.

As I told you, Dan, when I wrote my (admittedly somewhat flippant) golf book ‘Hacked Off’, I understood both deliberate practice and this key point – investment in loss, as you call it. I just was not able to make the necessary improvements to my swing, that’s all. I did not have the ability. I was not good enough (or, if I’m feeling kind to myself, the time).

I managed a best round of 4- over after a year of part-time practice, but – and I was very well aware of this – my swing was still poor. I just got good at scrambling, I learnt how to play my home course and, that particluar day, I got lucky.

Guys who get down from 28 to 10 with one swing (which is what I achieved, which sounds a lot cleverer than it really is) have to understand that they then have to have the courage to tear up that blueprint.

Each swing, if it still contains faults, will only take you so far before it hits a brick wall. Only geniuses get down to 5 and lower with faulty swings.

And, let’s face it, most of us are not geniuses. I’m certainly not, nor never will be.
Alain says:

February 22, 2012 at 6:34 am

Hi Dan,

Keep on the good work, I really admire you for your daily commitment. I have been following for quite some time and I am always amazed by your strong will. Remember that this is not the goal that matters, this is your journey.

I truly believe that with this will you will be able to move mountains.

Cheers,
Alain
dan says:

February 28, 2012 at 6:31 pm

Alain,

I’m glad you’ve been following along and please feel free to comment whenever you have a thought or question.

Cheers again for the support!

Dan
dan says:

February 28, 2012 at 6:43 pm

Kyle,

I agree and think you are right on with this comment.

Thanks for chiming in,

Dan
dan says:

February 28, 2012 at 6:45 pm

Thanks William,

You going through a big swing transition right now or was that a while ago? How is your game? Sorry I never asked before.

Talk with you soon,

Dan
Sam says:

March 1, 2012 at 11:23 am

This is a great post, and a very hard pill to swallow for many new players. My pro made me decide whether I wanted to play “salesman golf” or actually be competitive. Even though i experienced significant agita (and still do as the pro keeps changing my swing), i decided on the latter and it has really paid off.
Ed Perrault says:

March 8, 2012 at 7:17 am

Hi Dan,

Great post and congratulations on reaching 2500 hours.

“Investment in Loss” doesn’t just apply to golf. It has analogies in math, physics and even hiking. You have to be willing to lose ground (head downhill) to move yourself to a place from which you can hike to greater heights. Simply heading downhill doesn’t necessarily do the trick – you also need to head in the right direction.

In golf, direction is best provided by instructors. I sometimes lose sight of that and my attempts to alter my swing on my own can head off in the wrong direction. I think it is important to get an instructor involved when making a change so that you don’t “Invest in a Permanent Loss” (see Charles Barkley).

Ed

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