As a new year approaches and I near the end of my third year of playing golf, I'm finding it's time to reevaluate my goals and priorities and perhaps regain more balance in my life. I've made golf a big priority over the past 2 years, playing an average of 10 rounds per month and practicing once or twice a week while staying gainfully employed as a software developer. With my spouse working and both kids in college, my family commitments are minimal, so it's been rather easy to spend most of my free time playing golf.

I've kept up with my responsibilities at work, but I've admittedly let many of my tasks around the house go. I've got termites munching on our veranda, woodpeckers pecking on our chimneys, gophers feasting on our new landscaping, a lawn needing reseeding, dead trees needing removal, burn piles needing burning, fencing needing replacement, and of course, the never-ending honey-do list to attend to.


Balance in snow by Oilinki at flickr.com

Even activities that I enjoy have been set aside. I've only recently returned to playing hockey. I've barely made any trips to the mountains to go snowboarding or hiking. And my wife and I have hardly taken any weekend trips in our little motorhome.

I've continued to neglect my health and fitness too. With one more year before turning 50, I've never been to a gym, never exercised regularly, and only recently began stretching for a few minutes each morning. My back is better, but continues to limit my ability play or practice more frequently, and now a new shoulder injury threatens to sideline me from the game for a while.

I initially hurt my shoulder a month ago after purchasing a new driver, then spending the next 3 days on the range, hitting way too many balls trying to hit 'em straighter and longer - to justify the unnecessary purchase. I continued to play despite the pain and found myself in even more pain after each round. Last weekend I played in a 2-day match tournament and followed that with my weekly skins game on Monday and weekly roller hockey game on Tuesday. Now my shoulder is throbbing and affecting my sleep.

I'm certainly not complaining. I realize how fortunate I am that such a trivial injury is the only real challenge I'm currently facing. My family is healthy, my wife is happy, and my kids are doing well in school. I'm actually viewing this more as an opportunity to regain balance in my life. Or perhaps the injury is life's little way of telling me that I need to regain some balance. Either way, I'm eager to make some changes.

We've all watched friends make a religion out of something, whether it's golf, or fitness, or nutrition, or even work. It's important to maintain balance and put sufficient energy into all aspects of your life - family and friends, body and spirit, education and career, and travel and recreation. As we all know, golf can easily consume a lot of time and energy, taking time away from other important areas.

That said, I've also found that putting extra energy into a single activity for long periods of time is sometimes necessary and can even benefit other aspects of our life.

In my twenties, I put my career first. For the first time in my life, I applied myself at something. I put all my energy into my studies and my work. In the Navy, I gradually climbed from the bottom half of my class during my training as an Electronics Technician and Reactor Operator to finally graduating #1 in my class. I was rewarded with instructor duty, reducing my submarine duty to 2 years. I then continued this drive after the Navy, graduating from Coleman College with a 4.0 GPA, and was soon rewarded with a challenging and successful career in software development.

But over time, life seeks balance.

When I turned 35, I gradually started spending less time at work and more time with my family and having fun. I started coaching my son's soccer, baseball, and hockey teams. I learned how to snowboard while teaching my family how to ski, and I started playing roller hockey. I tried playing golf on two occasions, but didn't stick with it - mostly because my son and I were enjoying hockey together.

I loved playing sports growing up, but gave them up completely after our family moved when I was 12 years old. I got a job at a gas station in 7th grade, caddied during 8th grade, and worked and partied through high school. Then I joined the Navy for 6 years, got married 1 week after I got out, and found out my wife was pregnant 4 months later. Responsibility meant having fun had to wait.

But having met those responsibilities, I made a choice several years ago to leave a very stressful career and take a step back. Now, with a less demanding job and less family commitments, I've enjoyed the opportunity I've had to take up golf. And even though I've put a lot of time and effort into my game, perhaps at the expense of other responsibilities, this little obsession with golf has made me happier and has even taught me patience!

However, I think it's time I let go a little with golf and catch back up on other activities and responsibilities. I'm still planning to play golf on a regular basis once my shoulder heals, but with a different attitude and focus - one that makes time for hockey, snowboarding, hiking, friends and family, and my fitness and health!

I have one year before I'm 50... I'm planning to get there in better shape than I've been in since my 20's!

p.s. I'll still be posting here. I'm currently reading 3 golf books that you'll want to hear about.

Labels: About, Balance, Disciplines