Life Is A Game

Another weekend over, and some very good reminders and perspectives.
I was very fortunate to get three golf games in on three days, and to have a chance to do something nice for my dear old mother.
Friday we had a good buddy down from Peterborough. He is a great athlete, about my age, and has paid the price for his athletic prowess as a young man. He elected to have total ankle replacement surgery last fall. It was great to see a fellow take a risk on surgery, follow the advice of his therapists to the letter, and make such a remarkable recovery.
Don made a choice to get back into the game, surrendered to some facts about his condition, turned the problem over to professionals, then listened to their advice and did the things that needed to be done. This is a power of example to me.
A year ago he walked in pain, today he lives basically pain free, but does the things daily he needs to do to maximize his daily well being.
As an alcoholic in recovery, my friend’s adventure, although very different, was very similar. To get back into the game, we must be prepared to go to any lengths, and be coached through recovery. And I make no mistake, life is a game.
I really enjoy golf. Not so much the game, but the environment. That being said, I like to play golf at a reasonably competent level. Occasionally, I like to compete.
I well remember when my life was in turmoil. The golf course was the only place I could go and get any semblance of serenity. I always had some appreciation of the beauty that was around me, and somehow felt at peace.
Being recovered from my primary addiction, and as part of my recovery, I still enjoy the beauty and connection to my higher power that I find on the golf course. This is enhanced when I am conscious of just being there, content in a beautiful place. Recently, my relatively poor level of play has diminished my serenity on the course, not to a point where I have felt anger, but have felt disappointment in my own ability to perform at a level that is reasonable for me to expect.
Funny how much golf can resemble the game of life and the journey of recovery.
I have not taken the time to practice or condition myself this year, even though I’ve got great facilities at my disposal. I have not reached out and sought help from a trained coach. Yet I have expected decent results.
Over the weekend, I rectified that.
Yesterday I turned to a coach for help. The results were amazing!
I thought I knew what was wrong with my swing. And I was in part right. I was completely wrong in the cause of the problem. I’ve played golf for many years, and had lots of lessons. I understand the game well enough to help others with the basics, and was reluctant to ask for help from a pro on some basics I felt I was doing wrong. A smart guy like me should be able to figure it out, and maybe in time I would have.
Yesterday, I spent 45 minutes with a golf coach. Initially we talked about what the results I was getting looked like and felt like. Then he watched me in action for about 15 minutes. While I was hitting balls, he asked me some questions. He also asked me about my expectations.
In golf, it is easy to quantify goals in terms of a score and shape of shot, etc. Very quickly, the coach gently directed me to a few things to consider. While I was right in what the problem was, the coach, through suggestions, showed me what the cause of the problem was, and shared his experiences with similar issues, and had me come up with corrective thoughts that made sense to me; that I could relate to.
The result of letting go of my ideas of what was wrong, and taking some direction, was amazing.
After 45 minutes, the improvement in shots was remarkable. With golf, you get immediate feedback because the results are right there, in the moment, for you to see.
To make the adjustments I need, I will have to practice this new behavior every time I’m at the course, play a little less and take the time to ingrain the new behaviors, and check in with the coach to make sure I’ve stayed on track and not started to wander back to bad habits!
Sound familiar to any other experiences in life? You bet it does.
Life is also a game.
I witnessed the positive outcomes on the golf course of a major choice my friend made in his life, and the positive results he has achieved by setting goals and putting into practice on a daily basis what his “coaching” team directed him to do.
I experienced the good feeling of working with a coach on my own set of problems, and seeing initial results that were positive, but just a beginning. I know I have to practice this new behavior, and will, at regular intervals, return to my coach to make sure I’m doing what I learned, and will work with him to build on this new behavior to move even further ahead. I know, through coaching, I will return to a competency level that I have a right to expect. But it will only happen if I work at it.
Funny how life mirrors a game.
I have often thought and shared how the thinking of high performing athletes mirrors the life recovery process, and the principles in recovery are the same as those followed by other high performers.
Life is a game, and coaching can transform results. It brings out the talents that are there. I wonder, why did I wait so long this spring to reach out for help?
With a little practice on my part, my next few rounds of golf will show improvement, and I know my conscious contact with my higher power and enjoyment of my surroundings will be enhanced!
Like golf or other games, life is more enjoyable when you perform at the level you are capable of!!