The Sunday Mail
Time had written him off because it had been 10 years since he won another Major Championship Trophy. It had been a dry and wearisome decade.
Age had written him off because at 42 years of age, you are considered a grand-dad and retirement material in sporting terms. Injuries had written him off because he had suffered a number of them. Knee, back, heel, tendon, neck, he had made many false starts on some tournaments that he could not finish due to injuries. The doctors had advised him that the clock had struck and it was time to quit. Everything pointed to the fact that he would likely never compete again with the fittest and best in the sport. Everyone saw gloom and he saw differently.
That was not all. Competition had written him off as belonging to a past era of greats. By all counts, his place belonged in history and biography books because there is always a pipeline of new talented players that is so deep and wide. His name fittingly now belonged to the glorious days of the 1990s when he was a sporting sensation.
Regrettably, marriage and morality had also written him off, due to a slew of extra-marital affairs. He had painfully wept in disgrace in front of cameras, and had to endure many days in court as his marriage hit the woods. His had been a rough patch. Such is the story of the 42-year-old Eldrick Tony Woods who finished second and just four stocks behind the winner, Brooks Koepka on Monday August 13, 2018 at the Missouri GPA Championship. You have likely had of him, many call him Tiger Woods, the Golf sensation. He proved that he may be old but he had not yet lost the shine.
Do not let anything write you off
Whatever happens to you, do not let anything write you off. Let failure be just that – an event and not a nail of death. Never let a bad past cloud your bright future. A knock down is never a knockout. There is hope and scope to do better and fail forward. Just format your failure disc and re-write your new programme of success. Do not let any adversity bury you. If anything threatens to kill you, resurrect with a new life force.
Never let anyone suggest that it is time for you to be buried. Stop dreaming about death and start dreaming possibilities. It is a shame to die while you are still living and to expire while still in action. So long as you have breath, you still have a fighting chance. If you do not win a prize, win the lesson and work the feedback into your next attempt. It is the fight in you that matters more than anything that is fighting you. Stand firm and stand tall. Do not make other people’s negative opinions become your gospel truth.
Time is a burial ground that should be used wisely. The past is simply a place to bury your mistakes, errors and omissions. The past is never a monument for your failures that you use to pierce yourself with guilt. Forgive yourself, get up and you do not have to keep reliving past mistakes.
You are not finished so do not finish yourself off by resigning to fate. You are truly finished when you write yourself off and resign. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Even if you have to start all over again, start with new gusto. You have lessons to build on and a bank of experiences to draw from. Do not let your fund of experience lie idle. Let nothing, I mean nothing write you off and abort your future. Tiger Woods, had every reason to hang his woods and irons, and quit championship professional golf. No one would have blamed him, but he knew it was not over. So long as that firm still small voice is there, rise and face the rising sun.
Do not let opinions become facts
Other people will always have wise and well-intentioned opinions that give you good reason to keep your head down and stop fighting on. Some of the opinions come from learned experts and well-heeled pundits. Some of the opinions come from concerned family and confused folk. Other opinions come from those who know neither your vision nor the strength of your heart and determination of your spirit. They will all join the band of losers and raise their voices singing to the tune of “Quit, quit, quit, it is time to quit!” Do not confuse opinions for facts. Do not be tempted to lose focus. Do not also let fears become facts, because they are not.
Stand with a firm faith and do not lose your dear dreams. It was easy, too easy for Tiger Woods to believe the opinions of doctors, friends and lawyers. Tiger Woods knew that deep inside him, he still wanted to win. Your heart is more intelligent than your fearful head. For Tiger, it has been ten years without any Major Championship Win. He is close now. He knows the feeling of winning and the fit of the winner’s jacket. He is ready for his 15th GPA Championship Title.
Keep watching the news. This year looks like it is nigh to happen. Although he came second, the eyes were all on him more than the winner. His ascent was most glorious to watch. He kept many glued to their TVs and the magnetism of golf was ignited. He made playing golf great again. Your own second coming is waiting for you.
Take your stand. Do not remove your foot from the pedal. Keep your eyes facing the future and the prize ahead. There are many ways to become a winner. There is one sure way to be a loser. This is to fail, and then give up. Swallow the lump of your pride and get your confidence back. Put the past behind you and your goals in front of you. Drive facing forward and not the rear-view mirror.
Sometimes it is not always the winner who grabs the headlines but the one who fights against the odds to reach the finish line. Play your game with heart. It is the inner game of life that inspires many others to see possibilities in life. Play the game of life with a little more soul and lots of grit. Possibilities, more possibilities, I see them everywhere begging for people to pursue them.
Do not let the past hold you hostage
Let the past be just that — a history lesson. Grantland Rice once said: “Failure isn’t so bad if it doesn’t attack your heart. Success is all right if it doesn’t go to your head.” This is worth repeating. Do not let the past attack your heart. So long as you can still believe, you will see great things. So long as you can still dream, you can dare. So long as you can still stretch your mind, you can fashion greatness.
Join Danney Gokey in singing his 2017 Rise Album song, “Comeback” here are the lyrics, sing along and make your come back:
“After a season of night falls and push backs; After the heartache of wrong turns and sidetracks; Just when they think they’ve got you game set match; Here comes the comeback
Just cause you lay low got up slow unsteady; Don’t mean you blacked out or bought out you’re ready
Just when they think there’s nothing left running on empty
Here comes the comeback
This is your time your moment
The fire the fight your golden
You’ve come so far keep going
Oh here comes the comeback
You feel the lightning the thunder you’re soul shakes; Under the roar of the heaven the tide breaks; And from the ashes you will take your place
Here comes the comeback
This is your time your moment
The fire the fight you’re golden
You’ve come so far keep going
Oh here comes the comeback
There is no mountain you can’t face
There is no giant you can’t take
All of your tears were not a waste
Your one step away
Just when they think they’ve got you game set match
Oh here comes the comeback
This is your time your moment
The fire the fight or golden
You’ve come so far keep going
Oh here comes the comeback
Your comeback
Your comeback
Oh oh
Your comeback
Your comeback
Oh oh oh
Here comes the comeback.”
Committed to your greatness.
Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author, and executive coach. His life purpose is to inspire and promote greatness. He can be reached at: [email protected] and Twitter: @MiltonKamwendo or WhatsApp at: 0772422634. His website is: www.miltonkamwendo.com
