I wanted to take time in this blog entry to salute the followers of this blog who are brave enough to golf poorly. As someone who loves golfing but rarely hits as far forward as sideways, I understand your pain and the perseverance required to keep trying.
I have been golfing poorly for quite some time. Earlier this month, I nearly maimed a fellow golfer teeing off a few fairways over when my tee shot curved to a 45 degree angle and went right through this golfer’s legs. Thankfully, he laughed it off.
For my birthday, and for the safety of everyone on the golf course, my wife signed me up for private golf lessons. Since the best example of my swing I could find was Charles Barkley, you can imagine that I had lots to work on. I was standing too close, swinging back to far, not rotating enough, gripping the club too tightly and the list goes on. After a half hour lesson, I started doing something that resembled a golf swing.
Can you guess what happened next time I went out? I was even worse then before.
This was a powerful lesson for me on how individuals grow and develop both personally and professional. I learned that:
1. You can’t change behavior that you’ve been practicing for years overnight.
2. Your mind can only handle working on 2-3 action points at a given time.
So remember next time you engage in personal or professional development:
1. Cut yourself some slack
2. Practice the new behavior regularly
3. Be accountable to someone
4. Choose only 2-3 action points to work on at a time.
See you on the golf course this summer! (Beware)
Tags: Action plans, Changing Behavior, Charles Barkley, Golf Lessons, Lifelong learner, Personal Development