My Golf Shot Surprise
Your thoughts will determine your direction in life. I learned this firsthand.
One beautiful day many years ago, my friend Dennis invited me to go golfing. I was not a very good golfer; nevertheless, I enjoyed the game as well as the company and was persuaded to go. Not surprisingly, my game did not start off well. I should have heeded the signs to stop playing when my first ten shots were terrible. I whiffed a few without even making contact with the ball. I hit a few into the woods, and a few of them landed mere feet in front of me. This was definitely not my day. As I neared the 9th hole, thoughts of giving up ran through my mind. But at the moment I finally made the decision to throw in the towel, I hit a shot straight down the fairway. I began to think that maybe the tables could turn in my favor after all. Dennis and I pulled the golf cart up to my ball for my second shot. He dropped me off and drove the cart ahead of me. Even though I was not aiming in his direction, I knew he was in the danger zone, and so I yelled at him to move over, more to the left. He obliged and moved the cart, but I still had a feeling. The feeling that what could go wrong probably would go wrong. Trying to ignore the thoughts of drilling my friend with my shot, I approached the ball to swing. Going into my backswing, I had the lingering feeling of impending doom for Dennis’s life, but I tried to convince myself that he was way out of range.
I followed through with my swing, made perfect contact with the ball, and sent it sailing off my club-straight towards Dennis! He had his back to me with his right arm propped up on the passenger seat and his head turned back to watch me. When he saw that little white ball flying directly towards him, his eyes grew to the size of basketballs. He folded up into the fetal position, with arms tucked in and knees to his chest. The ball hit the cart and bounced around about 20 times before making a dead stop and disappearing from my sight. I thought I had killed my friend. I took off, running towards him. As I approached the cart, I could hear Dennis laughing so hard, he could barely breathe. He pointed to his backside as tears ran down his face. I looked down and saw my ball resting perfectly in between his belt and the place where the good Lord split ’em. I could not believe my eyes, for many reasons. After finding out he was ok, I said, “Don’t move. I’m playing it from where it lies.”
This story illustrates a great lesson: where your focus goes, your energy flows. I just knew in my mind I was going to hit my friend when I swung that club. The whole time I kept envisioning the ball going straight toward him, and guess what…that’s exactly what happened. The thoughts you think inwardly tend to manifest themselves outwardly. Your thoughts will determine your direction.
Thoughts have the power to take people somewhere: good or bad. Great thoughts breed great possibilities. In his book, As A Man Thinketh, James Allen wrote, “A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.”
Help those you lead be conscious of negative thinking habits. Help them understand the power of their thoughts. Thoughts are expressed through their words, attitudes, and outlook on life. As the leader, be aware of how your team is thinking. Encourage them to have thoughts that are positive and self-building. Protect your team’s thinking habits, for their thoughts will produce a result, good or bad. Be intentional about developing your team’s ability to think positively, and you will see positive results. Keep hope alive. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny.”
