The first part of this summer I have had the chance to play a lot of golf. It was one of my New Year’s resolutions, so I’m glad to say that I have kept one of them. I think it’s mostly because I am out of Seminary (finally!) and have a few extra hours per week at my disposal. Kelly and I traveled to Myrtle Beach for a week with Kelly’s parents and I got to play a few round there, and then this 4th of July weekend I played a few times around Escondido. It’s amazing how much that can help your game.
Anyway, I never really kept a “real” score in golf. I would give myself extra shots, dropped balls whenever I couldn’t find one… A few weeks ago i decided that i wanted to know where I was really at, so I kept a real score. It was a little bit scary, but I learned a few things through it. I started to actually think about each shot, knowing that I was going to count it (no matter where it went or if I could find it).
I did one other thing that completely changed the way that I play golf. I stopped carrying an extra ball in my pocket! Now, I know that doesn’t seem like all that big of a deal, but for me it has made all the difference in the world. Carrying around an extra ball is a way of admitting, “I know I’m going to fail, so I just want to be prepared when I do.” That extra ball used shift around in my pocket reminding me that I really suck at golf and that in a few shots I was going to need its services. So, I stopped carrying that extra ball. Now, that doesn’t mean I never lose balls now (I do lose less though!), but it means that I am not expecting to fail. What a concept!
I wonder how many of us walk through life expecting to fail. I wonder how many of us walk through life with a pocket full of extra balls, just writing for the rug to be pulled out and for us to need to drop another ball. I stopped doing it in golf, and I’m going to stop doing it in life too!
