Golf Teaches Us to Overcome Adversity

Face it, we make mistakes in business, in life and we have bad golf holes.

How we overcome this adversity is what makes us better men and women.

Just recently I played a golf course in San Diego for work with a client and shot birdie, par, snowman, snowman, double bogey, bogey, double bogey, par, birdie. The beginning and end were awesome, but it was the middle parts that were a little rocky.

What that round showed my client was that even though it took me 6 holes to bounce back, I still came back and finished strong.

In business, it is just the same. If you bomb a presentation, do you follow it up with a string of other poor performances or do you take that failure as a challenge to make everything else even better than before?

Here are 4 tricks to help you overcome adversity a little quicker:

1. Stay Calm: I like to take a few yoga breaths and focus on my intention. In golf, I ask myself the question, is it all about my score or the relationships I’m building with my playing partners and clients. In business, I take a deep breath and remember the mission or purpose when bad comments roll in.
2. Distract Yourself: I begin to focus on my surroundings, the trees, the ocean, my playing partners. I ask them questions to take the focus off of myself. In business, I dive into my work to make my products or services even better.
3. Be Hopeful: In life and on the golf course, I forgive myself and look for the strength to overcome my failures and to believe in myself again.
4. Have Confidence: Believe in yourself and fake it till you make it. Golf and business are mind games, and if we have the confidence, we will succeed.

With these 4 tricks you will be bouncing back and overcoming adversity in no time!

Written by contributing author, Jenn Harris, of High Heel Golfer.