My Dad dropped some life advice on me when he saw me hit a golf ball.
Being graceful isn’t enough
I was a teenager when I started to play golf. From our house, it was just a short walk to a simple, nine hole public golf course. Both of my parents played, and my brother played. They seemed to really enjoy the game, and during the summer I was more likely to reach my family by calling the clubhouse than calling my own house.
With my hand-me-down set of golf clubs, and recycled golf balls, I was learning the various rules and the expected etiquette. I was experimenting to figure out swing mechanics and what each of the clubs was supposed to do.
One day, I was playing with my father. This was unusual as he had limited time in his schedule for golf and he usually spent it playing with his friends or in tournaments. After a few holes, he asked if he could share some observations – my family was pretty good about not just blurting out unsolicited advice while still on the course. I eagerly accepted to received some feedback.
He said that my swing was beautiful. (Yaaay!) But he also said that I seemed to be playing like a ballerina. (Huh?)
He told me that gracefully going through motions of a golf swing wasn’t enough. It needed greater intention. I had to want to truly HIT the ball – put some real power into it.
Needing a burst of intention
With the image of knocking the coating right off the ball, at the next hole, I tee’d up my ball, took aim, and whacked the heck out of it!
The ball soared so far that my jaw dropped, and Dad clapped and cheered. It was suddenly a whole new game!
Dad was careful to distinguish intentionality from intensity. He was encouraging me to commit to the reason of my motions, and the outcome I wanted. He was telling me to not default into being overly careful, but to burst forth with energy.
More energy was more risk but also more adventure
As you can imagine, I wound up sending my golf balls in all directions.
I found myself in the woods, in the weeds, in the sand, out of bounds, and sometimes further away than when I started. Putting more energy into the game meant taking more risks, but I saw a whole lot more of the course.
It’s an easy analogy that putting more energy into whatever we do means accepting more risks but we experience far more of life.
Exercise your intention muscle
So here’s an exercise to help you strengthen your intention muscle:
- Today, identify an activity ahead this week, that you might go through the motions to just get it done. (Attending a staff meeting or a training session?)
- Then, consider how you might inject some energy. (Stand up for the meeting? Challenge yourself to raise your hand? Ask more questions?)
- When that activity happens, notice how you feel before and after you add your booster.
- Through the week, watch for other opportunities to push a little harder.
- At the end of the week, notice what was easy and what was hard, and how you feel about acting with more intention.
