I went golfing early one morning last week. My brother and I have a pretty regular game on Wednesday mornings at our home course. We have the first tee time of the day and usually play a very quick round.
As I unloaded my clubs and put on my golf shoes, I went to stick my iPhone in my cart and realized I couldn’t find it. I checked the car, the trunk, and even under the seats, thinking it might have slid down between the gear shift and the seat.
I didn’t need my phone, but these days, it’s almost like an extra appendage. It just feels weird not having it.
I worried that maybe I’d put it on top of my car while loading up, only to have it slide off the roof as I pulled out of my neighborhood. Was it lying in the road somewhere, waiting for a morning commuter or school bus to crush it to smithereens?
Or maybe I’d simply left it on the kitchen counter in my haste to get to the course.
I convinced myself it wasn’t the end of the world. Nothing urgent was happening at work, and I wasn’t expecting an important text or phone call. I asked my brother to text my wife and daughter so they could look for it when they woke up.
Normally, I’d check my phone every few holes, almost out of habit. But this time, I couldn’t. Instead, I kept thinking about my phone lying in pieces on the road or, worse, someone finding it and never returning it.
As we walked off the third hole, my brother relayed a message from my wife. My phone was safe and sound on our kitchen counter.
“Thank the Lord,” I sighed.
I proceeded to hit my tee shot on the short par-three fourth hole about seven feet from the pin. Okay, so I missed the putt, but I also stopped worrying about my phone and all the messages I might be missing.
Instead, I just played golf.
I couldn’t reply to anyone or reach out even if I wanted to. All I could do was focus on my next shot.
The funny thing was, when I finally got home and checked my phone, I hadn’t really missed a thing.
Kind of makes you think. What else could we leave behind without falling behind?
Negative clients or co-workers?
Anxiety-filled “what if” scenarios?
Unrealistic expectations we put on ourselves or feel like others have placed on our shoulders?
Those preconceived thoughts or ideas about situations, products, or people that might come into our lives?
What are you thinking you should let go of or leave behind this week?
Turns out, when you leave behind some of the things you can’t control, you realize how little control they truly have over you.
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