In golf the objective is to hit each shot well and to get into position to hit the next one effectively. Concentrating on hitting each shot forces the player to focus on the current shot and to forget about past mistakes. Unfortunately, in golf and in life, we do hit some “bad shots” or things just don’t go “our way.” It is important, however, that we not let a missed shot or a bad break today keep us from doing our best tomorrow.

Failure is an event, it is not a person; yesterday really did end last night. A bad shot or a bad break should not influence the next shot or the next action we take. As a matter of fact, on the golf course when we miss a shot we should say to ourselves, “I can’t believe I did that! That is totally out of character for me. I just won’t do that again.” Then, as we step up to make the next shot, we should be saying, “Remember how you hit that last seven iron on number eight? Here’s your chance to do it again!”

If we’ve missed a sale or fouled up a relationship or made a poor decision in the past, we should not let that be the measuring stick for future behaviour!

We should, in fact, step up to the next opportunity and remind ourselves of our past successes, painting a new picture of success and accomplishments in our lives.

Paint the picture of success before the next shot in golf or the next step in life.

Failure is an event, it is not a person; yesterday really did end last night.

Fanie Briel