The other day, I was out with my brother and some of my cousins playing miniature golf. This game has sort of become a yearly tradition which everyone from my 8 year old cousin to my 29 year old self not so secretly look forward to every summer but this year I actually learned something more than I am a horrible golfer.
The whole event was pretty much a typical round of mini golf. There were some good scoring holes and some unfortunate I’ll take a six moments but overall it was pretty uneventful until we stepped up to the 18th hole. We played in 3 different groups and my group happened to be the last one to go. As we patiently waited our turn to play our final hole, we watched the group in front of us take their shots. The last person in that group to go was my brother and it only took about 5 seconds for him to set up, hit the ball, and have it fall perfectly into the cup for one last hole in one. After it happened, my 8 year old cousin Abby turned to me with a big smile on her face and said, “I’m going to do that.” I politely smiled back knowing that a hole in one was easier said than done but she was too cute to tell that harsh truth to. I watched as she set her little red golf ball down on the green and hit it with her putter. The ball went sailing towards the hole until it disappeared, right into the cup. Hole in one. Seriously?!
I was stunned! It wasn’t that I didn’t think Abby could get a hole in one, it was more that she predicted that it would happen before it even did. Personally I think I stepped up to every hole day saying this would be the one that I got the hole in one on but it didn’t happen for me. The whole thing really made me wonder what it was about Abby stating she was going to get the hole in one that was different than me thinking on every hole that it would finally be my perfect putt.
The difference is actually simple to see. At some point, we all try to predict things that will happen or secretly want them to happen a certain way but it’s impossible to really know if you will achieve the desired outcome. I know that even though I want something, there is no way to completely know that it will happen and that keeps me from fullying believing in it's possiblity. Abby was certain. She was confident.
Ok I will admit there may or may not have been a little luck involved in the outcome but maybe the kid is on to something. We are so used to disappointment or things not working out for us that no matter how sure or confident we are in ourselves or our abilities, we always proceed with caution, hoping for the best but still being ready for the worst. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, the blissful innocence faded and we let the doubt creep in. Its like we are ready with Plan B before we even let Plan A play out or we grab the band-aid before we even start something because there is a chance we could fall. In both cases we are ready for when we fail, even though there is just as much of a possiblity that we will succeed. Maybe we should learn stop always analyzing things or weighing the pluses and minuses and just smile, step up to the tee, and believe that great things can happen when we stop doubting everything. Maybe you'll even get your hole in one.
“It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.” – Author Unknown
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