THE POWER OF POSITIVE

“Is the glass half full or half empty?”  This is a great question for golfers.  We know people who either complain about their golf game all the time or the golfer who always remains positive about their game even when things aren’t going well.  Which one has a better chance of being a good player?  Which player are you?  Which one do you teach your students? If you watched the Honda Classic, you witnessed Padraig Harrington playing some great and not-so-great golf on Sunday.  He didn’t have a great start, but he continued to grind on his game.  After the commentators quit talking about him, he rattled off four birdies in a row to get back at the top of the leaderboard.  Leading by one shot going into the very tough par three 17^th hole, Padraig hit the ball into the water.  It was the one place he could not miss, yet he did.  His double bogey put him one shot out of the lead. Lots of different things could happen to a golfer at this point.  They could lose their temper, they could go into deep depression mode, or they could do what Padraig did: stay positive and focused.  He knew that a birdie would get him into a playoff.  That’s exactly what Padraig did.  He made birdie on the par-five 18^th hole, forcing a playoff.  He won on the second playoff hole, which, ironically enough, happened to be the 17^th hole – the hole he made double bogey on less than 45 minutes earlier. Having a short memory is a good thing in golf.  Golf is a game of misses and you have to stay positive to play your best.  With free will, we have control over our thoughts and whether we want to remain positive or negative.  Once again, is the glass half full or half empty?  It’s up to you to decide and model for your students.