Since I have either already visited or have a fly-back to the companies I am interested it, I decided to join some of my other colleagues on a "golfcation" in Saint George, UT and escape the single-digit temperatures we have been having in Provo. It was a much needed and appreciated break. The mid-50 degree weather was a nice change and I was able to relax, golf, eat good food and hang out with family and friends. Being back in freezing Provo has had me missing the warmer weather and reflecting on my several experiences. In doing so, I have come up with 3 lessons learned from my break.
1. Emails walk back faster when they are not being waited for. That might not make much sense but let me explain. I'm pretty tech savvy and understand how email works, but for some reason, maybe because of all the cartoons I used to draw as a kid, when I send an email, I imagine a cartoon email character like so:
I load up my little email with info and send it running off to relay the information to the recipient. They then stuff in their reply and send it running back. Over the past few weeks I have sent quite a few emails running off and have been anxiously waiting their return. As I sit at my computer waiting for the response, I find myself wondering if something happened to my little email on his way. Did he trip and fall, did he never even get out the door, or maybe he can't get back into my inbox? I sit and stare at my inbox wondering what must have gone wrong, I send out test emails from various email accounts to ensure that everything is working properly and hope my little email is doing well.
It turns out, the more you watch and wonder, the longer it takes. Kind of how a watched pot never boils I guess. As I was driving down to Saint George I remember thinking I hope my emails are okay and walk back over the break. Sure enough, midway through the break, several of the emails I had been waiting for came "sauntering" through my inbox. I was pretty happy to see them.
2. Be happy in the moment and enjoy it. We spent the last day of the trip sitting outside in the sun in shorts and tee shirts...in 57 degree weather. The warm weather made it easy to be happy in the moment, and knowing that we had to drive back to Provo where it was 1 degree helped us really appreciate what we had and to take the time to enjoy it.
It makes me think of how anxious I am to know what the future holds and want to focus on the future, but I need to take the time to "sit in the warm weather" of where I am right now.
3. No matter how good of a shot you have, stay off of the green until everyone is on. One of the main activities of the trip was to golf and network with my fellow MBA's. The plan was to get in 2 rounds of 18. Unfortunately for me (and the rest of my foursome) we were only able to get through 8 holes the second day. The first day was a bit cold and I was a bit rusty, but by the second day I was doing pretty good. On the 8th hole, a par 3, I hit a great shot and left it about 8 feet from the pin! Two of us landed the green and the other two were just off to the side in a bunker. Excited about my birdie opportunity, I ran onto the green to start lining up my putt...I should have waited. As I was crouching down looking at my putt I heard a swing and looked up only to lock eyes with a ball coming straight at me. One of the golfers in the foursome was trying to get out of the sand, took a full swing, and accidentally bladed his shot and sent a line drive my way. It was coming so fast I didn't even have time to react. It hit me right on my eyebrow and knocked me back. I grabbed my eye in pain and started to feel the warm blood pouring through my hand. One of the others saw the blood and ran and grabbed a towel. We grabbed our stuff and headed back to the club house. Once we got there we were able to assess the damage, and it was pretty clear that I would need stitches. (Disclaimer: If you are squeamish don't look at the picture below) Everyone in my foursome was very kind to leave their round of golf early and accompany me to the instacare to get stitched up. I was lucky that my brow took the brunt of the hit and my eye was fine, aside from some ugly bruising and swelling. Apparently the ball hit so hard, instead of just splitting the brow, it busted it open in several directions. I ended up getting 8 stitches and a very sore brow.
So learn from my mistakes, next time you land one on the green, wait to approach your putt until everyone has a putter in hand.
Stitches aside, it was a great vacation. I had fun, have a great story to tell, and learned the overarching lesson of patience.
Ouch!
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