The game of golf seems to be a never ending pursuit of improvement. Just when you think you've got it down, the weather or the obstacles change. Sounds a lot like parenting, doesn't it?
There were two really good lessons that I learned from my golf coach (when I finally manned up and admitted that I needed some outside help.) I believe they both apply to parenting and here they are:
1.) "The problem is not the arrow, it's the Indian." I was convinced that I really needed a better set of clubs to cure my slicing problems. He was trying to tell me that the biggest improvement could be found by simply changing me, not some exterior elements that have a MUCH lesser effect on the outcome.
2.) "Practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent." I thought that if I just work hard enough and long enough, I would get better. He was trying to tell me that it was the quality of my actions that would have a greater impact on the results, than the quanity of my actions.
Good parenting advice? What do you think? I know it really help my golf game.
