A PLEASANT DAY OF GOLF?
by
Bill Marvin
The Restaurant Doctor

Let's say you are going out for a day on the golf course. You tee up the ball for your first drive of the game, look down the fairway and think, "I want this to go 200 yards, just left of center." You wind up and smack the ball . . . 30 yards into the trees!

You slide your driver back into the bag, jump in the golf cart and head down the fairway to where the ball should be - 200 yards, just left of center - ready to take your next shot. You are at first surprised, then irritated, that the ball cannot be found anywhere near where it was "supposed to be."

When the ball turns up "missing", you start screaming that you have been ripped off, yelling that someone must be out to get you and howling that there will be some serious bodily injury done unless your ball shows up where it is "supposed to be" and quickly!

It is going to be a very long day!

Play the ball
You know that you cannot play golf like this, of course, and it seems ludicrous to even suggest it. The fact that the ball landed in the "wrong" place has about as much to do with the flow of the game as the color of your golf shirt. The game cannot continue unless you go to where the ball is and play it from where it lies.

In the middle of the game, suggesting that the ball should be in a spot other than where it landed is a joke. Getting upset about it is even sillier. The only thing that is accomplished when you "lose it" is that the game stops, you look like a jerk and nobody wants to play with you any more!

Life is a game, too
It is obvious in golf, yet have you ever wanted things to happen a certain way and become upset when something else occurred? Did you throw a tantrum, assign blame or play victim?

In life as in golf, the only thing that is accomplished when you "lose it" is that the game stops, you look like a jerk and nobody wants to play with you any more!

Work on your game
Playing the ball from where it lies does not mean ceasing to care or accepting that you have to play out of the trees forever. To improve a continual hook in your golf shots, you might consult a pro or take a lesson to try to improve your swing - but you cannot do any of this in the middle of the game.

When the game is being played, you have to play the ball. That is as true in life as it is on the golf course.

for more information contact:
Bill Marvin, The Restaurant Doctor™
(585) 606-0000

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