I didn’t play other sports growing up. Just golf. I got weirdly obsessed with it at a young age and never looked back. It meant that over the 25 or so years I’ve been playing, I’ve played in hundreds of golf tournaments. That doesn’t make me an expert by any means, or immune to the pressure of competitive golf.

But it does mean that I’ve thought a lot about it over the years. And as we discuss in the most recent episode of the Golf IQ podcast below (or here!), there’s one thought that has helped me above all else:

The mindset that playing golf is the same as taking a flight on an airplane.

It sounds strange, but stay with me. Here’s why.

1. Takeoff

The premise of this airplanes-as-golf-rounds analogy is that during every golf round, just like every flight, it requires an absolute acceptance that four things will happen:

• A takeoff
• A landing
• A period of turbulence
• A period of smooth sailing

Yes, then also some snacks and maybe a little boozing along the way.

Anyway, when it comes to taking off, the mindset is exactly that: Getting your plane, or round, safely into the air. That’s really the only goal, because you can’t do much else. The first tee isn’t the time to get aggressive.

2. Turbulence

You may not want there to be, but accept that during every round of golf, there’s a period of turbulence. A stretch that is uncomfortable, because nothing feels easy. Maybe it only lasts for half a hole. Maybe it lasts for nine holes. Accept that it will happen, and accept that it will pass. Your goal is simply to navigate through it as best you can.

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3. Smooth sailing

Then, on the flip side, there’s the opposite. A period of every golf round which feels easy. You string together a couple of good shots, or holes, and life is good.

Just like the turbulent period, it comes then goes—and is largely out of your control. You can’t predict when or how it’ll come, but you can expect it to happen.

4. Landing

During every round, and every flight, the time comes to land the plane. Bring it safely back down to earth. Whatever happened before doesn’t matter. Who cares if it was a bumpy ride to get here, and if it was an easy ride, that doesn’t mean the job is done.

Treat your closing two or three holes as their own, individual, unique task. Some of my most rewarding rounds with this mindset haven’t come from playing well. They’ve come from finishing the round well. Even if the rest of the round didn’t go as planned, at least you can take pride in finishing the task.

Again you can listen to the full podcast below, and subscribe on Apple here or Spotify here.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com