From Tee to Green - Attitude
Lessons about Life from Golf
~Attitude
I've been playing golf since I was about 8 or 9 years old, now for more than 52 years. I don't play as much as I once did, but I still enjoy the game. When I was a child, I would ask my Dad if I could go with him to "caddy", which was to pull his cart. He would let me hit a ball now and then and that's how I started. Before long, I started playing with him, although I wouldn't always play all of the holes. Later, at 12 years old, I became an actual caddy at a local country club outside of Chicago, and I caddied for 4 summers. It was pretty good money, plus on Mondays the course was closed to members and the employees and caddies could play the course. I really got to know the game well by playing often, not only observing other caddies I played with, but observing the members' play. Many of them were very nice and would talk golf with us, even though I was just a kid.
In my late teens through my early thirties, I played a lot of golf and was even a little fanatical about playing. I would play whenever I could, although once I started my family, I had to cut back a bit. It seemed like all that I could think about was finding opportunities to play. If you've played, you know that as fun as golf can be, it is also very frustrating. One day I would blaze the course, the next day it was like I've never held a club in my hand. I actually took 6 months off at one point because my game was driving me crazy, and would at times make me very upset on the golf course. Like Mark Twain once said, "Golf is a good walk spoiled." While I was on my hiatus, it wasn't until I was out of town and happened to walk by a golf course and just stopped by the fence to watch. At that point I realized I wanted to get back into playing, but with a new attitude about my game.
One of the things I became intentional about, concerning my attitude toward the game was to be realistic. The fact was that I didn't really work on my game to get it to the level of my self imposed expectations. I wasn't hitting the driving range on a regular basis or ever seeking professional instruction, so how could I think that I would just naturally get better? Now at this point, I had young children and I also realized that the game took me away from my first responsibility to my family. The process of reasoning led me to realign my expectations to a more realistic perspective, take charge of my attitude and to be content with the game I would get without the extra work. Subsequently, when I did play, the game was much more enjoyable. I'm still competitive and strive to play well, but by intentionally prioritizing my time, my activities and therefore my life, I accept the good with the bad. My attitude between the good and bad holes became much more steady.
Life does this to us as well. Each day has it's own good with the bad; some mostly good, other days, more bad than I'd prefer. The key to navigating the day to day, sometimes hour by hour swings is attitude. Chuck Swindoll said it this way:
"Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what other people say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude."
This is so true! When I first heard this it came to me at a low point in my life. I was a "fixer" but couldn't fix the circumstance I found myself in. I was becoming frustrated and angry and I knew I was not who I thought I was. Don't get me wrong, changing my attitude isn't a light switch, but it is a choice. A daily choice. Often a daily battle. Once the choice is made, you are in control. I still strive for excellence, try to major in the majors and minor in the minors and keep watch on my attitude. It has helped me in so many different ways. It will for you too.