Not too long ago my husband and I went to the driving range. I’m not a golfer, at all, but it’s something my husband enjoys, and it’s something I can tolerate, so we have found it to be a good day-date activity.
I had hit maybe 20 balls, and I was nearing the end of my golf ball hitting tolerance, but I decided to hit one more. I lined up my club and took the shot. It was perfect – well perfect for me at least – 175 yards straight down the middle – a beautiful shot!
I set my club down, looked at my husband and said, “That’s it. I’m done. I want to end on that note.” I walked over the bench and sat down while he finished hitting the rest of the bucket.
After we left, I thought back on that moment. How often do we do that in life? We have that one successful moment, and we think, “This is my one success. How could I ever repeat it? I don’t want to try again because I’m afraid I’ll fail.”
That fear of failure is what holds us back so often from the things we want to do, even if we have had success. Some people believe that success breeds more success, but sometimes success can actually be detrimental to our motivation and the way that we pursue things in the future.
What I have found over the years is that famous Wayne Gretzky quote is true, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” I missed every single one of those next golf shots because I didn’t take them. I didn’t try.
How many shots do you miss each day?
You need to honor your successes. You need to be grateful that they happened. You need to carry them with you, but you cannot be afraid to take that next shot!
Step up, take that next shot – and take it like a mother!