“Suddenly Star Wars came out while we were on hiatus, and we looked like the old Buck Rogers series, where they had cigarette smoke blowing out the back of the rocket ship.”
– Gregory Harrison
Until last weekend I hadn’t hit a golf ball in two years. After high school golf ended I quit the sport. At the time I was too frustrated with the game and decided it wasn’t fun anymore.
I’d make a mistake and it would drive me into an unfocused rage. I’d watch dozens of YouTube videos on stance and swing, and they would leave me more uncertain than I had been before. The combination of conflicting information and frustration made me pack up my clubs and seal them away for good. Or so I thought…
At the beginning of this month, I decided that I should start golfing again. The weather’s nice and I figured that playing a sport would be a great way to relax and unwind after several stressful months.
Before I dusted off my clubs and went out to hit some practice balls I made it a point not to watch any golf videos or read any golf related books. I wanted to see how bad I would initially be, and improve from there.
What happened shocked me. Almost every shot I took was fantastic. During the time I didn’t play, I’d actually improved at the game.
Of course this wasn’t some magical occurrence. I hadn’t “grown into” being a better golfer. In fact, I’d been passively improving my skills the entire time. All the weights I’d lifted had made me stronger and able to hit the ball farther. While my new found focus on maintaining a positive attitude and thinking successfully kept me from having a meltdown whenever I didn’t get exactly what I wanted.
If you want to improve at something, you’ll sometimes need to find an unconventional route to do so.
