Motivation
Motivation
Greetings Golfers,
The other day, playing with a group of local characters … I got paired with a guy who played football on a Notre Dame national championship team. He’s a good athlete … also played hockey and baseball. And is a good golfer. And was a successful lawyer.
Why I am telling you about how wonderful this guy is? Because, he needed my constant encouragement to finish his round. He didn’t play the first hole well - not terrible - but was immediately really down on himself. It continued through holes 2 and 3.
I told him that the first three holes are warm-up holes … that the round begins on #4.
Well … I kept at it. “Your swing looks good.” “Just slow down a little … there’s nothing wrong … you just look hurried.” Etc. Oh yeah, “the round begins on the next hole.”
So … who do you think beat me on the back nine? Yeah … he played great.
Maybe yelling at him at football practice would have worked … but yelling at him on the golf course wouldn’t have … he was already yelling at himself inside his head.
I even threw-out the “casually-confident” idea. He liked it … a lot. Maybe I can take all the credit for his well-played back nine. Obviously not … but I can take a little of it. Encouragement is a pretty good way to motivate. Anger/fear isn’t the best … especially in golf.
Though I try to be encouraging to others … sometimes I’m not good at taking my own advice. I’ve gotten dragged into an ugly war recently … I’ve been through plenty of wars, but never enjoy it … yet, I don’t run from them either. However, at my age, I was tempted to move on.
Well a wise family member sent me this quote from Oliver Wendall Holmes, Jr:
Life is painting a picture, not doing a sum.
"As we go about our activities, we will have a richer day when we think of ourselves as painting a picture instead of keeping score. Rather than woodenly completing a task, we might approach it as something that can be made interesting. Instead of driving to work or riding the bus only to reach our destination, we might think of this routine as part of the picture we paint today. When a friend makes a comment, we might think of it as another brush stroke in our painting and join in with him, rather than making a game or contest we must try to win.
Many of us men were taught that success means having the highest score. So we have become compulsively competitive—always trying to be right, always striving for more financial security, or always pushing ourselves for some new achievement. Success may not be coming out on top. When our lives are lived as rich and interesting pictures, we find our rewards are far deeper and more lasting.
May the picture I paint today be one I will carry with me and appreciate."
So that’s my new motivation. I’m not moving on. I’m staying and painting a beautiful picture.
Hope you are too.
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com