Align Your Feet to Your Path

You can try your best and put in the maximum effort to get to your desired location, but if you’re not aligned in the right direction you can find yourself in a foreign place.

Golf and life are the perfect parallels; alignment is vital when deciding where you want to go. If you have a desire in mind, the most important step is checking to make sure your actions and motives are aligned with your goals. Being confident and making clear and committed decisions often leads to better results.

Soaking in knowledge and advice from others can be taken in two ways. One could focus on the positive side of constructive criticism and learn from it. However, there is the opposite reaction and can lead to offense being taken accompanied by hurt feelings.

An issue I struggle with is being hardheaded, as noted several times throughout my previous articles (ouch lol). The examples I listed below are a glimpse into how I manage to get in the way of my own path.

• At the Houston Open Pro-Am, I could not help but worry about my golf swing and getting lost in my swing thoughts. When chatting about it with Stewart Cink, he told me that my swing was great but I was aimed straight right… Uhm, not my proudest moment as a golfer I’ll tell you that.

• My coach has also noted that I need to be using my alignment sticks every time I practice, and I have neglected that. Unfortunately, the habit of not using my alignment sticks has sent me wayward and my scorecard reflected that.

• At the last tournament of the season, I talked with a friend of mine about the importance of using alignment sticks. Hearing this advice for the third time was definitely a reality check as a collegiate athlete. You could be doing everything right, but if you don’t check your fundamentals and yourself at times, can lead to a whole lot of work and revisions in the future.

By utilizing this needed constructive criticism, I can become better and grow from my mistakes. Living in your past mistakes does not make the mistakes go away. At some point, accountability must be taken to move forward and improve in all aspects.

Don’t let yourself become your worst enemy. Stop becoming complacent with mediocrity. Stop settling for less. Realign yourself with the path you want to take.

When in Birmingham, Alabama, we passed by a church with the best sign ever and the highlight of my trip! The sign stated, “Let God fight your battles, he hasn’t lost one yet”. There is a lot that is not in our control as human beings. As the world continues to get darker, there is no one better than God to cling to. It is never too late to realign yourself with God and the purpose He has for you.

Focusing on the right things aligned with your goals can produce better fruits rather than focusing on the lack thereof. Although the week is coming to an end, I challenge you to focus on the positive instead of the negative for a day.

I think that Malachi chapter 3 is a great chapter as a whole, however, I will leave you with these final verses.

Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Malachi 3:16-18

As always, I love you but Jesus loves you more!