Watch This
A number of summers ago my wife and I went to Minooka Park, in the suburbs of Milwaukee, so we could cool off in the pond. That day we met a boy who made an impression on us that will last a lifetime.
When we made our way into the water a young boy around nine years old latched on to us. Wherever we went in the water, he wasn’t far behind. He would look at us and say, “Watch this.” then he’d dive in and get into a handstand so you could only see his feet. He’d hold it for a few seconds, then pop back up from the water and ask, “Did you see that?” He must have repeated that feat at least two dozen times that day.
“Watch this” became one of our catchphrases. If my wife and I were about to do something, anything, we would tell the other, “Watch this.” At first it was just funny, but as time has gone on it’s made me think deeper about the meaning behind it. It’s grown into a valuable life lesson.
For years I was like that boy, eager to demonstrate my talent, knowledge, or skills. I was proud of what I could do. After college though it seemed like doing that was bragging, so I moved away from it. I also fell into the trap that you couldn’t show anything off unless it was perfect, but that’s another lesson entirely. I don’t know where along the line I went from being confident, to being scared.
I think the phrase sets me up for success. It lets me relax and have the confidence to know that I have nothing to fear. I run the phrase over in my head before I’m about to do something in front of people. It works for me on the golf course too. Before I putt or take a swing off of the tee box I say it to myself, a few times I’ve even said it out loud. The putts went in and the drives went right down the middle of the fairway.
What do you say to yourself that works? I’d love to hear about it.
Starting this blog is one of those things I wanted to do for a while, but never took the time to start. That boy from the park has been on my mind as I put this site together. And as I start this journey all I can say is, “Watch this!”
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