Gratitude and Positive Thinking

Tuesday, April 16

“I played with a ton of gratitude and an appreciation that I get to do this.”
“If I catch myself thinking about what could go wrong, I dream about what could go right.”

These were quotes from golfer Max Homa after his third round at The Masters on Saturday, where he had positioned himself to be in the next to last group on Sunday, with a legitimate chance to win his first major. He would go on to finish in a tie for 3rd place, his best finish ever in a major.

All weekend Max put on a masterclass in mental performance. All the things we work on with athletes, with coaches, with leaders, he was executing on. But those two quotes struck me the most. And they matter for us today, and every day.

Gratitude. He’s in a high pressure situation, competing for arguably the most prized possession in golf: the green jacket that the winner of The Masters gets to put on. Yet instead of stress, instead of anxiousness, instead of complaining about the pressure, he chose gratitude. “I get to do this.”

Choosing better thoughts. Golf is such a mental game. And if you hit one bad shot, you can begin to spiral. You stand over the ball thinking, “What if I hit it in the water, sand, out of bounds, over the green?” “What if I completely screw up this shot and then my whole round is ruined and why am I even here anyway if I’m going to fail?” Yet he chose to his thoughts. We talk often about choosing your second thought, because your first thought is out of your control. When he started to worry what could go wrong, he instead chose to think about what could go right. Which gives him a much better chance at hitting a good shot.

Today we can choose gratitude. Even in the midst of stressful situations, we can choose to be grateful that we get to show up and use our skills. Be grateful that we get to provide for ourselves and our families. Grateful that we have work to do. And whenever negative thoughts come in, we can choose to have a positive thought next. Whenever we worry about making a wrong decision, we can wonder what happens if we make the right decision. Whenever we worry about not closing the deal, we can dream about what happens when we close the deal.

Choose to be grateful. Choose to focus on the good. Have a better day because of it.
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Keep chopping wood. 🪵🪓

-Kevin