For years, I have heard different iterations and analogies about the importance of not looking back and staying focused on what is in front of you. Yesterday, this became glaringly important while I was on the golf course.
After golfing sporadically for over 30 years, I have just enough knowledge about golf to know the rules of the game and to recognize that my skills are not always up to par. I've been practicing and yesterday felt I was ready to hit the course. We made a late tee time and headed out. Before long we had caught up to the group in front of us and had a single player right behind us.
I am still feeling shy about my swing and get very nervous when people are watching. I'll speed through a hole just to avoid someone behind watching me play. Yesterday, I grew more and more anxious because people were watching and had a rough time for a couple of holes. Finally, I'd had enough. I got out of the cart.
I walked to the tee box and remained focused on the pin. I did not turn around, I did not change my focus until I was ready to hit the ball. An unusual sense of peace came over me as I focused on the pin. I shook my head and smiled to myself because this is what I always tell people to do.
"Look ahead!" "Stay focused on the future!" "The past is good for reference but it isn't what is ahead of you!" All great advice, but it can be very difficult to remember, especially when you are in the heat of emotion. Here it was in action, I made the decision to only look at the pin and then only concentrate on my form.
And it worked.
My husband said, "What did you just do?"
I'd like to say that I did really well for the rest of the day. In truth, while there were more good shots there were also some stinkers in the mix. It wasn't purely magical and I did have to work on maintaining the forward focus. But for the first time in a long time, I had a great time and I can't wait to golf again.
To me and my husband, golf is important. We have a good time golfing together. As he gets nearer to retirement, we're looking forward to spending a little more time on the course.
I know that the next time I golf, I will have to remind myself to stay focused on the pin. I may find myself wanting to give up on a hole, and I may actually take a break. What I don't expect is that I will quit; I will figure out how to stay focused and keep myself in the game.
留言