Perhaps one of the most frustrating things in the game of golf, (other than the fact that a putt of 5 inches is worth the same stroke that a 300-yard drive is), is that you can hit the ball farther when you swing easier.  It is totally counterintuitive!  You want to hit this beautiful, long drive down the fairway, over the lake and you get all geared up, do your visualization, say your prayers, check the wind speed, make sure your shoes are laced tight and your belt is securely fastened so you don’t swing out of your pants and WAMMO just like Happy Gilmore – what does that ball do?  Splash!!  The harder you swing, the less distance it travels.

Golf really is like life, and there are several books to illustrate that.  Even if you don’t golf you can gain an understanding by watching it.  The gents and ladies that swing easy, with a nice smooth arc of the club will send that ball sailing beautifully down the fairway.

In life, sometimes we get caught up trying too hard.  Trying to control all the circumstances, and measure everything around us.  Then we get all emotionally uptight that things might not go our way, arteries are half bursting out of our necks, and we expect things then to go smoothly??

The odd thing is, the most effective thing we can do is show up with good intentions regardless of what challenge we may be facing.  That’s right, simply show up with good intentions.  It’s amazing how far a positive, hopeful disposition will take you.  It will smooth out the bumps and make any bruises less painful.

Next time you are facing a difficult scenario, choose to swing easy and see what happens.