Find Your Golf Shot

When you take away the peace and quiet, maybe a few beers, and the business that gets done on the course, golf is pretty much a terrible game for most of us.  We spend half a day chasing our ball left and right, if we can even find it.  We leave divots in the grass.  We miss putts, then say they were gimme’s anyway.  We shoot six but write five. 

But here’s the thing about golf: you can play terrible for 18 holes, but if you hit one good shot it was all worth it.  When you get back to the clubhouse you don’t talk about how you shot triple digits, you talk about that putt on 9, the chip on 13, or that drive on 16.  It could rain, you could break a club, lose three balls, but that shot was worth it. 

Why? It gives you hope that your game is progressing.  It shows you your potential.  If you did it once, certainly you can do it again.  If you can do it again, certainly, one day, you can repeat it 60 or 70-something times for that perfect round. 

What if we applied the same rules to life?  On those days when it seems like everything is going wrong, find that one shot, that one bright spot and focus on it. Catch a train at the last minute? Great, that can be your bright spot.  Someone compliment your clothes? Great, that can be your bright spot.  Nail that presentation? Great, that can be your bright spot. 

When you get back home at the end of the day, don’t lead with all the things that are going wrong, start with your bright spot.  If your family asks you about how you manage to focus on those little things when the rest of your life seems crazy, tell them you got the idea from golf.  Maybe the next time you try to sneak out of the house to play a round you won’t get a hard time… and that can be your bright spot before you even step on the course.