My One Resolution for 21
I made the decision to quit golf. It took me years to make this decision. When I finally got there, it freed up tons of time. Gave me mindshare back for my other life priorities. And generally, simplified my life while making it more fulfilling. Truth be told, I do miss the time with friends and the competition.
But I learned some valuable lessons from my years of striving to become a golfer.
It is good to pursue excellence. This takes focus.
Focus motivates me to learn and practice.
It is wise to seek out and pay professionals to evaluate and accelerate my learning.
My friends’ advice was worth what I paid for it.
When I make a bad shot, don’t analyze what I did wrong. Just do the right thing the next shot.
It is this last lesson that sticks with me for 2021. And I say this because I made a few bad decisions in 2020. They didn’t change my life radically. They were more missed opportunities. But here is what happens inside my head when I realize I made a bad decision.
I get down on myself.
One bad investment and I stink at investing.
One bad article and I am not a good writer.
One bad speech and I should never give a talk again.
One bad piece of advice and I am a terrible advisor.
One bad hire and I am not good at choosing great leaders.
One bad strategy and I stink as a strategist.
Like golf, the more experience and time I invest in an activity, the more perfect I think I should become. But this is not the way life works. As an investor and entrepreneur, I am dealing with people. And those people are dealing with even more people. And people are like golf swings. They are never exactly right, and they can always get better.
So yes, I made some bad decisions.
In 2021, I have one resolution:
When I realize I made a bad decision, there will be no regrets. I know the right thing to do. I’ll just make a good decision the next time.
After all, I still have a lot of good shots in me.