Satisfied Or Unsatisfied?

Back in April, I was practicing at Eric’s range. During the two hours I was hitting, Eric had a clinic with girls who were in middle school to early high school. He stopped me from practicing to call me over to hit a few balls in front of the kids and their parents. He then opened it up for questions. I got the typical questions of “How did you get into golf?”, “How long have you been playing?” “Where do you play at for school?” etc. One parent in particular asked me “When did you know you were good at golf?” This was a new question for me. I responded with, “Never. I never had a moment in my career when I realized I am really good at golf.” 

I think as humans, it is very hard for us to realize if we are “good” at something. On the outside, to those parents, I looked like a really good player. Internally though, I have never actually felt like that. I think that’s why I am always hungry for more than I have achieved. I have never been satisfied. 

Now this can be both a strength and a weakness. It’s a strength when you use that in satisfaction to go out and practice every day, even on the days when you don’t feel like it. It’s a strength when you are in the lead by one shot heading into the last hole, and you have to make a 10 footer on the last hole to win. In these examples, it is a strength to be unsatisfied with what you already have. This will make you a good player.

Now, too much unsatisfaction can hurt you. There comes a point where if you are unsatisfied with everything in your golf game, then you will make yourself miserable. You will pick yourself apart. You are setting yourself up for failure.

What I have learned is that there needs to be a healthy balance between being unsatisfied with yourself and praising yourself when you do good things, even if those things are very small. You have to cheer yourself on and think positively to yourself when you accomplish great things. Completing a difficult drill, practicing in tough conditions, making an up and down are all good examples of how to celebrate small wins. Be satisfied with the small wins. Praise yourself for the small wins.

From my experience, it is a lot easier to be too hard on yourself than to praise yourself. I always find it harder to celebrate my wins. I don’t allow myself to enjoy them as much as I do. I am always looking ahead to what’s next.

Take the time to be satisfied with your accomplishments everyday. It is ok to be unsatisfied with yourself sometimes, but don’t let the unsatisfaction take over everything good you have accomplished. Take time to reflect on all you have accomplished and use that as fuel to accomplish greater things.