What is the lens you're looking at things through?
What is colouring the way you see things right now?
What's your persepctive?
A few days ago, I played what could arguably be the worst golf game I've played since I was just learning the game. And it seemed to keep getting worse the more holes I played.
I could blame the terrible round on many things. It was my first game of the season. I haven't gotten to play much in the last few years. The weather was crazy and undecided - sun, then rain, then sun, then rain again. The wind was making the ball go places that weren't planned.
And all of those things probably played a role in how bad it was. But, they weren't the most important thing impacting my game that day.
A few years ago, I inherited my Grandma's golf clubs. She wasn't able to play anymore and I was in need of new clubs, but couldn't afford them. So, since my swing is very similar to my Grandma's (if you golf, you know this is important), she gave me her relatively new clubs to use.
After a particularly bad shot, I was returning my club to my bag, when I heard my Grandma's familiar words in my head. It was something she reminded me of often in all the hours I spent on the golf course with her and my Grandpa as a teenager.
I was getting frustrated and thinking only about how my golf game was awful. How I couldn't swing a golf club correctly anymore. How it was never going to get better.
As I looked at the clubs my Grandma used, I heard the reminder: "It's just one bad shot. When you get to the ball, it's a new opportunity again. No matter how bad the shot was. You have another chance. Start fresh."
The way I was thinking on the golf course that day wasn't helping my game. I didn't see anything getting better. And I was actually making things worse. My thinking kept me going down a path that would make my game keep getting worse.
If there was going to be a chance of things improving, I needed to approach each shot as a new opportunity, rather than keep getting frustrated. I had to change my perspective.
Doing so, didn't make my game improve immensely, but something did shift. Things didn't keep getting worse and I even managed to hit a few good shots in the remaining holes.
Our perspective matters. We need to be aware of what is impacting how we see. It matters. And not just on the golf course. It matters in all of life.
What is the lens you're looking at things through?
What is colouring the way you see things right now?
What's your perspective?
Where does it need changing?
What can you do to change it?
