Be Aware and Flip the Switch as Needed
Reflecting in winter on a lesson learned regarding intentionality and focus on a warm, early-summer day.
"Confine yourself to the present." ~ Marcus Aurelius
“Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” ~ Sharon Salzberg
"Pay attention to your intention." ~ Lynn Marriott
"The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will." ~ William James
"Simply begin again." ~ Joseph Goldstein
Winter in the Philadelphia suburbs has been brutal, to use a popular term in the Philadelphia area to describe any number of things from weather to traffic to the Birds. There’s nothing so pointed and sharp as a "hoagie mouth" uttering "broodal".
In most winters here, there a few days in December thru February where the temperature edges above 45°F and the schedule aligns for a quick couple of holes and a dose of free Vitamin D. But this year, temperatures rarely get above freezing and snow with an upper crust of ice has been on the ground for weeks. I last played golf outside in November. (Very much a first world, Main Line problem, yes.)
This morning, the "feels like" was -10°F and even our dogs had little interest in being outside. Fortunately however, while the coffee was still quite warm, I discovered that No. 35 of The Golfer’s Journal arrived and that it contained a piece on the experience of attending the 2025 Walker Cup by Charlie Warzel. I wasted little time, pouring a cup and settling in on the couch.
Warzel described the uniqueness and intimacy of seeing a Walker Cup in person, which reminded me of Walker Cups and Curtis Cups that I have experienced first hand at nearby Merion. My most recent experience is the 2022 Curtis Cup and as I read the piece, I was reminded of something I noticed almost immediately as we walked down the fairways with the female players, many of whom were in their late teens or early twenties: their ability to focus on the task at hand — playing great golf.
Between shots, if you listened to the young women talk and if you closed your eyes (inadvisable, given the depth of many bunkers at Merion), the conversations were like any other conversation you might overhear from young women everywhere: comparing college campuses and the quality of the food they offered students, TV shows they were binging, the inconveniences of plane travel, often laughing with their teammates and opponents. The only thing missing were smartphones.
But once the players got to within 10 yards of their ball, a switch would flip. Their countenances changed from that of happy teenagers to that of neurosurgeons as they assessed wind, elevation changes, lie, distance and coming up with the best answers to the questions the course and the match were asking at that moment. They would rehearse their swings for the shot at hand, execute, and then calmly assess the process and outcome. As they began to walk after their balls again, their minds usually shifted back to the politely gregarious camaraderie.
Over and over again, I watched that process repeat itself.
It was an incredible display of efficient mental, emotional — and therefore physical — control.
At such a comparatively young age, these players knew that to stay locked in for four hours was unrealistic and unsustainable. But they also knew how to get themselves out of socializing mode and back into golf mode quite well. It was hard not to be aware of their awareness.
Amazing to witness and something to emulate, regardless of age, skill level, or setting. Be locked in when it matters, but in between? Maybe not so much. Just don’t forget to begin again when it matters.
……………..
One of the reasons a Charlie Warzel byline will catch my eye is because it was an article that he wrote in TGJ No. 19 about the Chasing Scratch podcast that alerted me to my now favorite pod’s existence. If you think you would enjoy listening to two good friends spontaneously and hilariously riff on any number of tangents while attempting to reach 0.0, Chasing Scratch is for you.
……………..
Speaking of Chasing Scratch, a recurring guest on the pod is Dr. Jason Novetsky, a sports psychologist who recently published the Stoic Journal for Athletes. If you are reading this newsletter, you’re going to want to check that out.