What Two Words Did Rory McIlroy Use To Win The Open?

Rory McIlroy, the newly crowned 2014 British Open champion, proved Sunday that the fewer pre-shot thoughts a golfer has to consider, the better.

"They’re very simple. I just kept telling myself two words," McIlroy told ESPN about the couple of "trigger words" he used as mantras all week to help him maintain his inner peace.

Those words, for all you weekend warriors with a million thoughts blasting through your head as you hover over every shot for what seems like hours, were "process" and "spot," McIlroy revealed, as promised.

"Process, which is just ‘focus on my process’ and 'focus on don’t care about the result, just really get into the process,’" McIlroy said. "And spot -- for my putting: ‘just pick your spot, roll it over your spot,’ and that was it, 'process and spot.'

"There were only two words that I really had in my head for the four days," stated McIlroy, in what one could perceive as a massive understatement, "and they seemed to work pretty well."

McIlroy made a series of major life changes after a banner year in 2012. He changed his equipment after signing a long-term deal with Nike. He moved to South Florida. He endured a management shakeup that led to a legal battle that will be heard in court in January. He tried to maintain a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend, Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, even sending out wedding invitations before breaking it off earlier this year.

His game suffered.

“I never had doubts,” said McIlroy, who said his low point came when he shot 79-75 and missed the cut at last year’s Open at Muirfield. “You can’t doubt your own ability. All I had to do was look back at some of the great tournaments that I played. The ability was still there. That wasn’t it. I was just trying to find a way to make it come out again.”

As for what the win meant to McIlroy, the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland teared up as he related the importance of Sunday’s victory. "It means an awful lot," he said with emotion. "This is the first major championship my mum’s been at when I’ve won and to be able to see her on the back of the 18th was -- it was really nice to be able to share a moment like this with them."

So for those non-golfers amongst us what can we learn from McIlroy? When performing complex tasks don’t give yourself too many things to think about. He had just two key words.

Focus on the process and not the outcome. If the process is correct then you will most likely get the outcome that you desire.

And, maybe not lastly, you must keep believing in your own ability.