The Difference Between Writing & Golf (for me)

I like to write.

But I will let you in on a little secret…I don’t always like to write. In fact, sometimes I hate to write.

It is actually pretty simple. I like writing when I write well. I hate writing when I write poorly.

When I sit down to write, I want the result to be great. I feel I know the steps to make it great. But I don’t always know if words will end up great or if they will end up awful. I may have a decent idea in mind, but when it comes time to put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard), I can’t guarantee I will be pleased with the result.

If I recognize that there is a decent chance the writing will be bad, why is worth it to me to sit down and try for something great?

I will answer that question with the sport of golf…

When I step up to a golf tee, I want my shot to be great. I feel I know the steps to make it great. But I don’t always know if my shot will end up great or if it will end up awful.

Because of that, I don’t play golf.

More often than not my time on the golf course ends up awful. I am horrible at golf.I know that I would improve with golf lessons from a professional and hours spent on a driving range. But I will never be successful at golf because I don’t care enough about it to be bad. I don’t like being bad at golf, so I choose not to play. I don’t want (or need) to be great at golf enough to suffer through the bad to become good.

Back to writing…

There are many times that I won’t write a masterpiece, just like there are many times that I will miss a putt. But, unlike golf, I seem to care about writing enough to risk having a bad outcome.

Having a good writing day is enough to keep me going, despite all the days the words just don’t come out brilliantly.

It is not ground breaking news that we do not like to do things poorly. But the things that we will do poorly enough times to eventually get to the good times are the things that we will make us the most successful.

Each time I write, I feel that eventually I will come up with something that people will enjoy. It may not be this post and it may not be my next post. But it will happen at some point because I care enough to stick it out and get through the awful to find something good.

This allows me to suffer through all those bad days of writing (just not the bad days of golf).