Everyone Deserves a Do-over Once In A While
It is a brand new year, which can only mean one thing; a lot of us will participate in the annual lie called ‘New Year resolutions’. A New Year resolution does not start out as a lie does it? We really mean to lose weight, read more, stay on a budget, go to church, not gossip, etcetera but then something terrible happens; the morning of January 2nd comes around. There is always a reason for not losing weight, reading more or going to church. It’s raining; it’s not raining; it’s too cold; it’s too hot. Each of these excuses is followed by, ‘but I will do it next time. I promise.’ Resolutions are easy on New Year’s Day, but then comes January 2nd, January 3rd and so on and so forth. The resolution starts to fade and we feel a twinge of guilt about our lack of resolve. Being adverse to failure, I make resolutions I can keep.
One year, I resolved to resist the urge to smoke. Since I never smoked, resisting the urge to start was achievable. Other resolutions included eating more, exercising less, procrastinating more, and not wearing metal pants in electrical storms. I am happy to report I kept all those resolutions. This year, for reasons I will not mention, I resolved to lose 25 pounds. This year is harder than most and I will need some help. I need a mulligan.
A mulligan is a golf term meaning ‘do-over.’ When you hit a bad shot, take a mulligan. A mulligan is not legal under the official rules of golf, but is employed by mutual consent during friendly rounds with golfing buddies. The origin of the term is not known as several versions exist. One explanation by the USGA Museum, proposes a gentleman named David Mulligan, playing at the St. Lambert Country Club in Montreal, Canada, hit a tee shot of which he was not particularly proud. He re-teed and called it a ‘correction shot.’ His buddies decided the shot deserved a better, more distinctive name, so they called it a mulligan.
If you watch me attempt to play golf, you know a mulligan is my favorite shot. Some people like putts, others chips, but I like mulligans. I stand there on the first tee and check my grip and my stance. I go over my swing technique in my mind and finally launch into the shot. The golf ball promptly lands in the lake or the woods or perhaps on the roof of the silly homeowner who built a home so close to where I play golf. After the laughter subsides, I claim my mulligan and get a do-over.It is nice of my buddies to grant me a mulligan; we all need one from time to time. I will need a do-over to keep this year’s resolution. I fear a single mulligan will not suffice, but if one mulligan is a good thing, two would be wonderful and 365 would be …sufficient. Hey, I think I am on to something here.
Randy Russ
http://www.randyruss,com/
