Do The Work
My son took me to the driving range over the weekend. It was a great chance for us to spend some time together, enjoy the outdoors and work on our golf game.
It had been a long while since I’d even picked up my clubs, so my “golf game” really did need work. (When golfers ask me what my handicap is, I say I don’t have one. Not because I’m a scratch golfer - a zero handicap - but because it’s so high, it isn’t even worth measuring!)
So as I settled in and started hitting balls, I kept going back to the fundamentals my golf teacher taught me back in 1996. Stiff left arm/wrist, bent knees, bend at the hips, keep your head steady, and focus on form over power. Initially, I was pretty inconsistent. I’d hit the ball perfectly one time, top it the next. I’d slice one shot, and then strike it sweetly the next.
Some of this was me relearning the requirements of form, not just mentally but physically. But some of this was also me constantly thinking about what I had to do as I took each shot. Of course, this was necessary, as I had to go through the motions of (re)coordinating my head and my body. But it also meant that, at times, I’d overthink things - I’d be too much in my head as opposed to in the flow of the swing.
As I kept playing, though, I internalized what I had to do more and more. I also began to play a bit more quickly. I focused on the one thing that needed more work. I was actually able to think less about everything else. And, as a result, I became (relatively) more consistent. Basically, I was able to just get out of my head and simply do.
But that was only after I had done the work of learning the basics and absorbing - internalizing - what the mechanics were. Once I had done that, I could get into the swing more and it became relatively effortless. I was able to enjoy it a whole lot more.
It reminded me that to get better, I need to do the work of learning. To become more consistent, I need to do the work to internalize those lessons. And then to stay consistent, I need to keep doing the work, so that I can get out of my head, and just play.
In other words, there are no shortcuts. Every professional golfer (and sportsperson) we’ve ever admired, who makes it look so easy, knows this to be true. They’ve put in the work, enough so that they don’t have to really think so much about it. And it’s no different for the rest of us.
All roads lead to the same place: doing the work so that we can think less and enjoy more.
