With the British Open coming up, I have golf on my mind. Many years ago, when things were going great in the commercial real estate industry, I played a lot of golf. OK, a whole lot of golf. I would play several of the public courses in Montgomery County three to four times a week.
After completing an enjoyable round in the hot sun I would often stop at the legendary Anchor Inn in Wheaton for a “refreshment” – usually a tall, cold draft beer. One of my favorite regulars at the Anchor was an 80-year-old retired lawyer named Robert. I always stopped to talk to him when he was around.
One of my favorite Robert stories came when he found out I used to be a football coach. He told me he had played for legendary University of Alabama football coach “Bear” Bryant in the 1970s. Robert said he had once asked Coach Bryant the secret to football. The coach put his arm around Robert and answered, “You gotta put that @#%*-ing ball in the endzone, son!”
When Robert saw me he would always ask what golf course I had played that day. I would tell him the course, and he’d usually reply that he had played it himself when he was younger. Then he would smile and ask me, “Any birdies today?” In golf, a “birdie” means completing a hole under par. For the average golfer like me this is quite a feat.
Often my answer was, “No, no birdies today.” But sometimes it was “yes.” If I answered “yes” Robert would say, “Tell me about it.” I would recount in detail the hole I shot the birdie on. He’d smile with a gleam in his eye and tell me he was proud of me. I always loved sharing those special moments with him. He seemed to enjoy it as much as I did.
I then incorporated this strategy into my everyday life. At the end of each day I ask myself, “Any birdies today?” If there were, I write them down in detail. This allows me to focus on the good things that happened that day, even if there were also some not-so-good things.
It helps me keep my perspective even when times are tough.
Have a great weekend,
Ro