Golf as in life has its birdies and bogeys, it is a continuous adaptation of our environment good and bad, in other words, not perfect. As the saying goes, a good attitude can be as equally effective as aptitude. If you are willing to pick up a club and play the game, you can expect to fail a few times before announcing your great shot. Same goes in life right, if you are willing to live a great life you must not be afraid to put yourself out there in the arena. The game of golf is so often referred to as the game much like life, we have to being willing to except failure of hitting bad shots or making a mistake at work equally.
For some reason, we judge ourselves based on the things we think we are supposed to do, not for who we are. We attach a certain amount of shame or embarrassment to failing at something that we are striving to be better at or tell ourselves that it didn’t matter, I wasn’t really trying or I don’t care anyway. How often have you found yourself saying that after something went wrong? It is funny how golf can be the game unlike any other sport, we associate trying our best and failing as being a loser; yet in basketball, baseball or most other sports when your failure is 50% or greater we talk about how great those players are. Putting in perspective a baseball player that fails 70% is enshrined in the baseball Hall of Fame! Talk about failing forward! The greats of the game in golf realize that they are not going to hit every shot perfect and do not wrap themselves with a cloak of shame after each failed shot or missed 4 footer, instead they accept it and equally a good break may happen based on the fact their effort will create good breaks. Attitude is powerful.
As we approach the bulk of our “playing” season of golf in the northeast, don’t allow shame or embarrassment to get in your way of improvement and enjoyment of something you love. As you put your time into preparation to play your best put some enjoyment of the process in there too. As it has been said, “joy is in the struggle, embrace it”. Remember golf is a continuous adaptation of the environment good or bad, it is not a reflection on you as a person but more a validation of your courage to put yourself out there to be better, enjoy it!
Enjoy your Journey!
