Due to my past athletic exploits, I know what’s it’s like be sidelined with a concussion, sprained ankle, and knee surgery. Due to the arthritic condition that I have had to manage for 25+ years now, I know how that feels ever so intimately. But I rarely, if ever, get ill, so I am likely not the best sick patient you have ever met.
I woke up last Sunday morning feeling a little off, but excited to play in a little informal tournament that afternoon. But after about three hours at the office that culminated in me throwing up seven times, I knew there would be no golf (or work or anything) for the rest of the day.
Or the next, it turns out. After throwing up twenty one times the previous day, the body ain’t gonna feel good the next day, if you know what I mean. I lost a good ten pounds, easy. So I drank water, pounded electrolytes, and ate jello, popsicles, and chicken noodle soup. I snoozed, binge watched The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix, and even watched another movie.
But as I helplessly lay inside on two perfectly beautiful coastal Mississippi days, I took the time to take inventory and reset.
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If we don’t make the time to reflect and reset regularly, I believe from past experience that we just get set on cruise control. Keep doing the same things. Keep getting the same outcomes.
I also believe that if we do take the time to ask ourselves the real questions about happiness, direction, ambition, potential, life experience, purpose, and just general joy PLUS have the courage to then act, something magical will happen.
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I’ve been on my journey for the better part of five years now. Prior to Sunday morning’s BarfFest 2022, here is where I stood. I have limitless opportunity in the golf industry: as a career, as a teacher, and I love to play. I have a growing family, daily forays out into nature, and a clearer picture of who I am and what I want out of life (and the courage to pursue it). I have travelled to many interesting places with plans to travel to many more, and I have experienced many things I never thought I would with plans to experience many more.
However, some things need to evolve. My feet hurt. My Achilles hurts. My knees hurt. My elbows hurt sometimes. If I’m serious about maximizing my potential, I could be more diligent about stretching and how I balance my love for great food and drink with, say, eating bananas. My soul hurts when I miss one of my son’s soccer games. And then those handful of long, long days each week where I work, teach, study, practice, and play…(Shout out to my Achilles.)
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When I have feedback of real feelings, I listen now. I am a true believer that there is a solution to most every problem. So having 48 hours to sit and listen were of great value to me, an opportunity to adjust for the 42,000th time along the journey.
The abk lifestyle is all about the pivot and the adjustment. When life throws you lemons, figure out what the *#%* is going on and make the necessary adjustment.
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As much as I would have loved to jet ski, cookout, play golf, and visit with folks over the long weekend, it apparently was time to reset. The universe spoke. Instead of burgers and dogs, I drank 39 gallons of water. And instead of continuing to do exactly what I was doing when some tweaks were definitely needed, I was given the silence and the kick in the pants to go make the next iteration of the journey come to life.
Have a great week.-Benj
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