Everyone is familiar with Charles Barkley’s difficulty with swinging a golf club when he’s actually trying to hit a golf ball. His smooth practice swing is replaced by a swatting at the golf ball that includes several hitches and contorted body movements. If your golf swing isn’t like your practice swing, perhaps this story can help you find a solution.
The Little League coach was pitching to a team of 7-year-old players. Unfamiliar with how to handle a bat, the youngsters didn’t do very well. They swung weakly, barely connected with the ball, and dropped the bat as soon as they made contact.
After watching the baseball roll meekly through the infield a few times, the coach had an idea. He picked up the ball, held it out to his team, and asked them, “What is this?”
“It’s a baseball, coach,” one of the players said, barely hiding his desire to add, “you dummy.”
“No, it’s not,” the coach replied. “It’s a tomato. And the next time you see it coming at you, I want you to smash it with your bat. Smash the tomato!”
The boy took a bat, and did indeed smash the “tomato” into the outfield. The other players quickly followed his example, all with big grins on their faces. Nothing had changed—except the kids’ idea of what they were trying to do. Sometimes the best way to achieve a goal is to think of it in different terms.
What are your obstacles? Try thinking of them in different terms. Maybe you can smash them to smithereens.
[Article first appeared in Family Times, October 2010 issue.]
