When you measure your performance, do you count all of the points you earned, or the number turtles you saw?
Three holes with two young golfers
It was a sunny, summer day, and I was at the golf course, volunteering with the junior girls program. On this day, that meant walking the course for three holes, with two of the club’s youngest players.
They each carried a few clubs in small bags slung over their shoulders. They cheerfully skipped their way along the fairways from shot to shot.
The third hole was a Par 3, with a large pond.
This wasn’t their first time at this hole, and they had already developed a strategy of bumping their balls along the path around the pond.
On the green, I heard them counting their putts out loud. They were emulating a lot of good golfers who keep track of their putts.
What they counted along the way
After that hole, we were walking back to the clubhouse, when I asked them how they scored. They excitedly told me their numbers, which I realized only included their putts. When I asked about their other shots, they informed me with great confidence that it didn’t matter how you got to the green, you only counted the shots once you got there! Then, they proceeded to list all of their other numbers – number of turtles they saw, frogs, fish, birds, chipmunks, dragonflies, and purple flowers.
A big grin grew on my face, and I was grateful in that moment that they taught me more about life than I was teaching them about golf.
What else could I be counting, that’s meaningful to me?
They adapted the rules to what was meaningful to them which made their experience more fulfilling.
So I wondered – at work, besides “key performance indicators” what else could I be counting? Number of high fives, smiles, laughs, new connections? Noticing any of those would feel good right?
Exercise for perceiving more
So here’s an exercise to help you strengthen your perception muscle:
- Today, pick something you would be excited to see more of around you. Maybe it’s yellow flowers, or pictures in Zoom backgrounds, or thank yous – even those not directed at you.
- Then every day this week, update your scorecard for what you’ve seen, and consider sharing your sightings with others.
- At the end of the week, notice what was easy and what was hard, and how encouraged you feel.
