Last month, like many sports fans, I was tuned in watching the final round of the Master’s golf tournament to see if Tiger Woods could pull off a win and achieve a huge comeback in his career. For those of you who are not dialed in, the story may not resonate but for those of you who have followed his career and know his story, it was pretty exciting!
It was truly a great example of never giving up, pushing through tough times and making a long comeback, not just in sports but in life too. It was simply inspirational.
In short, Woods is one of the best golfers in the history of the game and was at the top for many years but some personal issues, injuries and bad luck derailed the success he had achieved. Many doubted he’d ever make it back to the elite level where he once was.
Well, he proved the doubters wrong, but more importantly, achieved something that we can all learn from. Never count yourself out, keep fighting and remember there’s always hope for the comeback!
Here’s 5 things that come to mind from his victory that we can all translate into our own lives and personal struggles.
We are all human - That’s right. In a world that always pushing for “perfection”, the reality is we are all fallible. We make mistakes, we fall and we’re far from perfect. That’s okay and that’s what makes us human. We can strive for perfection but just realize all you can do is your best.
Failure is only feedback - If you take failure out of the equation you’ll lower your stress levels and actually get to your goals faster. Failure is when you put a final end result to a situation. Sure you might not achieve a goal, win a game, pass a test etc..but if you look at these setbacks a simply feedback, you can recalibrate and get back on track.
Stay in the game - So many people quit when they don’t even realize they are so close to success. Tiger Woods could have given up many times over the past 10 years but he kept persevering, making comebacks and working at bettering his game. He stayed at it and didn’t quit. If you adopt that mentality you can achieve things you never thought you could!
You can always make a comeback - You might have been at the top of your craft, you may achieved a goal or you were at a level you never dreamed of but then you lost it. It’s not over! You can make a comeback. It might not be easy and the road might be long but never lose faith in yourself.
Never too old - Look at Tom Brady and Tiger Woods, both are in their 40’s and are peak performers. They are proving that you can excel far beyond what is traditionally accepted. Don’t give in and ever act like you are too old. Once you start to say it and think it, you begin to live it. My advice, don’t even think about “age” — think about simply being a doer!