Monday, April 22, 2019

Why Tiger winning the Masters is a big deal




I used to play golf. I liked it when I was younger and I had time to play, but as work and family began to take more of my time I left it behind. There were other things I wanted to do with my free time. While I enjoyed playing golf, I absolutely hated watching it. I think the proverbial "watching paint dry" would be more entertaining. So why am I writing an article about Tiger Woods winning the Masters? Because it's not about golf. It's about people. For those of you who know me, you know that I love people. I love helping people be their best. I love success. But what does that have to do with golf? Nothing...it just so happens that Tiger Woods is a golfer, but also a human being. If you're just focused on Tiger's winning of the Masters, you're missing the real story here.

Let's look back. Tiger hit his stride back in 1997, and for more than a decade, he was the one to beat on the PGA tour. But Tiger made some poor decisions and had some other unfortunate factors hit him pretty hard. He had a rather long fall from grace. Many considered him a has been and assumed his career was over. People are funny creatures. It's almost as if some folks delight when someone who achieves great success fails. But his fall is what made his win so great. Every year someone wins the Masters, but it's not every year that someone who has endured what Tiger has wins.

At some point, all of us fall. We all make mistakes. We all do things we wish we could go back and change. Sometimes we fall and we don't even know why we fell. We shake our fists skyward and exclaim "why me!". For some of us, this is a season of our life. One that we must endure. One that can make us better, stronger, smarter, and equipped to handle the next season a little better. That's exactly what Tiger did. He never stopped working. He stumbled, he fell, but he got back up again and won arguably the most prestigious golf tournament in the world.

That's why so many people are talking about Tiger today. Because they relate to being knocked down and having to pull themselves back up again. They know the loneliness you feel when you're at the bottom and they long for the hugs, high fives, and congratulations when you're a winner. If you cheered for Tiger this weekend, see if you can find someone who needs someone to believe in them. Give a hand up to someone. Don't judge that person who made a mistake. Help give someone else their "Tiger Moment".

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