What Can We Learn From a Youth Golf Instructor?

My six year old son Thomas loves golf. Like really loves golf. Yes, God must really love me.

We are blessed that his Granny and Poppa have been taking him golfing consistently for 3 years now and have him in golf lessons.

So what does this have to do with your nutrition? Glad you asked.

His golf instructor is an ex-tour player whose students lovingly call G.W.

G.W. is an excellent coach as he has had over 60 of his players receive college golf scholarships.

As I sit at Thomas's golf lessons, I am astounded at how G.W. takes complex golf concepts and explains them in ways kids can understand.

3 Examples:

1. In trying to teach his players to turn correctly on their backswing he simply says, "Belly back, belly forward."

2. At setup, he tells his player to stand like a gorilla, which gets the player into the correct posture at setup.

3. Also at setup he names different parts of the player's body. For Thomas, his big toe is named Fred, so when G.W. says "Ball on Fred" he knows the ball should be lined up with his front big toe.

What's my point? My point is that I have read countless golf articles and books, watched instructional videos, and taken lessons without understanding or performing these concepts. Now I get it and now I can do it.

What was the difference?

Simplicity.

The issue we have in reaching our health and nutrition goals is not a lack of information. It is in fact the exact opposite. It is too much information.

Your Actionable Step:

As we approach the New Year, I want you to simplify your health and nutrition. You know what you need to do. If you don't, send me an email and I will gladly help you out.

Set for yourself a simple nutrition goal and a simple health goal. Make them process goals, not results goals. (I will exercise for at least 5 minutes a day rather than I will run an 8 minute mile.) Make them goals you are pretty certain you can attain with minimal motivation.

Example: Fred's Goals: (not big toe Fred, a different Fred)

Nutrition: I will include at least 1 cup of colorful vegetables and fruits at each meal.

Exercise: I will get my heart rate up for at least 10 minutes every day.

Set simple goals and focus exclusively on them. Do whatever you need to in order to prepare and succeed in your simple goals.

I think you'll be surprised that over time, you will want to do more. 10 minutes won't be enough and you will want to set a new small goal.

This New Year, don't get sucked into the trap of setting huge, complex goals. Instead, remember this lesson from G.W. Keep it simple. If you want someone to help you get back on track, encourage you, and help you achieve your health goals, contact me about becoming a coaching client.

If you are new to the blog, I want to encourage you to go back and check out my previous posts, as they serve as the foundation for what we talk about each week.

Here's to the best version of you!