This saying—while true for most of us—is actually a subtle acceptance of mediocrity.

If you're like most golfers, your scoring has become a habit. It's how you identify yourself. You play with people with similar handicaps. The way you're playing right now is familiar. You wouldn't recognize yourself any other way.

This acceptance of mediocrity is your subconscious barrier to birdies.

In contrast, think of Annika Sorenstam. She challenged herself to stretch her comfort zone, increase her confidence and generate momentum which allowed her to play with the boys at the 2003 Colonial, thereby raising the bar for women golfers everywhere. It's no wonder she was named LPGA Player of the Year.

In addition to possessing an extraordinary talent, Annika maintains a powerful, positive belief—both conscious and subconscious—that she can birdie every hole in competition. She knows that if you believe strongly enough that something will happen, it often does.

What are your beliefs? Are you willing to confront them? If so, it's important to understand that challenging your conscious beliefs is the first step to overcoming your barrier to birdies.

Step two is persuading your subconscious to believe as well. Under hypnosis [a state of mind where the subconscious is impressionable], your subconscious can be persuaded to accept or reject ideas.

If you have been badmouthing yourself for years, making statements like "I'm not good enough" or "nothing every changes for me," odds are your subconscious mind has already accepted these negative ideas as reality. They've become habits of thought and once you've established a habit, it can only be undone at the subconscious level.

This is the reason why simple positive affirmations are often not enough to change your behavior, especially if deep down you are still thinking negatively.

The key to successfully changing a habit is to use your imagination to reprogram your subconscious. If your subconscious mind does not reject a suggestion, it [the suggestion] will enter as true and believable—just like a knife through warm butter.

Here is a simple exercise to prove this point. Devote a few minutes to it and then read the rest of the article:

Extend your arms straight out in front of you, palms up and then close your eyes. Now imagine that there is a large, heavy book in your right hand. This book is so heavy that it weighs down your entire arm. Allow this to happen as you imagine your arm is growing heavier under the weight of this book. Now picture or imagine a string tied to your left wrist. Imagine that the other end of the string is tied to a big, colorful helium balloon that is pulling your left arm up, making it feel lighter and lighter. Maintain this image for a few minutes, then open your eyes.

Did your arms end up at different levels? If so, surprise! You were in a light state of hypnosis. Even though there was no book and no balloon, your subconscious mind believed the suggestions and caused your body to respond. If this happens for you, then you can believe in yourself as strongly as Annika does.

If your arms didn't move, don't worry. This only indicates that you were unable to persuade your subconscious that my suggestions were true.

Every day, I help clients to change their subconscious beliefs, and after doing so, behavioral change often follows. A compulsion to smoke becomes a repulsion to smoking. An urge to overeat becomes an urge to eat less.

"Infinite intelligence leads and guides me in all my ways."

"The principle of right action and divine order govern my entire life."

These two positive ideas are taken from The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, written by Joseph Murphy in 1963. They can be very effective at neutralizing self-deprecation. Your subconscious is most receptive to these suggestions during hypnosis, especially right before you fall asleep and just as you are slowly waking.

Phil Mickelson's performance at this year's Masters is a perfect example of how to put this technique into practice.

With no major wins in 42 attempts, "the greatest-professional-never-to-win-a-major" smiled throughout the entire tournament because he BELIEVED he would win.

He didn't think "I want to win." or "I'll try to win." Every professional golfer does that. Deep down, Phil believed "This is my tournament. This is my day to win."

And he did it. He broke through on the back nine at Augusta, shot a 31, and finished with a thrilling, winning birdie on 18.

Whatever your handicap, don't assume you're stuck there. You can break through your barrier to birdies by simply believing. Jennifer Scott, C. Ht. is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist who practices in Scottsdale, Arizona. Jennifer is the creator of several Own The Zone^TM hypnosis programs and a regular GOLFONLINE contributor. E-mail Jennifer with questions or comments at jennifer@ownthezonegolf.com.