If the game of golf is played correctly, it reminds me a lot of life.

One of the main rules in golf is you have to play the ball where it lies. Meaning that if you hit it in the sand, high weeds or up against a tree, you have to play the ball from there. There are no mulligans (a do over), foot wedges or your buddy telling you to just hit another one. I could write pages just on the rules of golf, but the overview is that you are supposed to play the ball from where it comes to rest.

In life, we sometimes make a shot (do something) that we wished we could do over. Unfortunately we have to deal with the circumstances we find ourselves in. We can’t take it back, do it over or just say, “that one didn’t count.” No, in life all the shots count and you have deal with it just as it is.

I laugh at the email recall function. Supposedly it allows you to retract an email after it has been sent. The funny part is that if you receive an email recall notification, the first thing you do if go back and closely read the first email. It may have been an email you didn’t even want to read, but the recall notification makes you want to read it. Ha

In life, you can never un-ring a bell. When you say things you shouldn’t, you can be forgiven but you can never erase it from the other person’s memory. Basically in life, like in golf, you get one shot and you have to deal with whatever the result is.

I am at best, a very average golfer and I have seen some poor shots over the years. I remember one time the guy I was playing with hit into a sand trap. He got set to hit out of the trap and flubbed the shot and it rolled back in the same spot he had just hit from. This guy thought if he hurried and hit it again it would have a better result. By hurrying he did the same thing again and then got flustered and did it a third time. It was all I could do not to laugh. I remember holding the towel over my face so he couldn’t see me laughing.

So in golf as in life, we should always be honest with our score and think through the decision before attempting it. If the shot is bad, keep your cool and settle yourself before attempting the next shot because that second shot, just as the first one, will count on the score card. Even pro golfers will make a mistake but the real test is (just like in life) whether they can recover from the mistake and go on to complete a good round. KT

Retirement scares me. I know it should be something you look forward to but it still scares me. I like work and I like the interaction with people and the sense of accomplishment you feel when you have tried your best on a project. It is also all I have known since I became an adult.

There was a study done by Merrill Lunch and Age Wave in 2013 that really got my attention. They asked people before they retired “what will you miss the most when you retire?” the number one answer (38%) was reliable income. When they asked people that have already retired “what they miss most after they retired?” the number one answer (65%) was the social aspects and mental stimulation of work.

If you have already retired and are reading this I think the answer lies in finding something meaningful to be involved in that challenges you and keeps you mentally engaged. If you have not retired and are reading this, I think the answer is to not be in hurry to reach a destination, rather be completely in the moments of your life.

I know one person who retired and literally when home and got in a recliner and ceased to live an active life. It did not turn out well for that person. Retirement can be a beautiful thing if it is planned for in advanced. I am told that of all the life changes, retirement can be the most difficult to adjust to.

It is like driving down a road we all have to go down. Some people pull off early and some pull off late but we all have pull off at some point. I am guessing it is everyone’s choice to achieve retirement age because the opposite is to not to live long enough.

I suppose the point I am making is that regardless of the life stage you are in, recognize how very special life is and never take a day or a sunrise for granted. Never miss an opportunity to share a kind word or an uplifting compliment or make a positive impression on those around you. Use your opportunity to leave a legacy for your family and friends because that can only be done while you are among the living. KT

PS: if you want to watch a good movie about living long and strong, watch the movie Secondhand Lions with Robert Duvall and Michael Caine.

Something to do, someone to love and something to hope for.

Alexander Chalmers lived from 1759 to 1834 and was educated as a doctor but left the profession to become a journalist. He wrote extensively and the above statement is attributed to him.

We all could point fingers and make additions or subtractions to this statement but in the most general sense, this statement is pretty correct. Yes, it would be good if it had a little gospel in it but for the most part, it is accurate.

Let’s break it down. Something to do, means some meaningful work or volunteer effort that engages our minds in a purpose. Someone to love, means having people in your life that you love, cherish, want and need to spend time with. We all need people in our life that we can trust and that love us back. Something to hope for, means we need something to look forward to in our life and it is that hope that is essential for the enjoyment of life. People who commit suicide have usually lost hope in their life.

In my personal opinion, Hope for the future is one of the most important emotions we will ever have or ever experience. Hope is the will inside of us to see a future and to have the expectation, desire and plans for that future. It is what drives you to get through today and look forward to tomorrow. I know that sounded a little churchy but I want to say it again. Hope is the will inside of us to see a future and to have the expectation, desire and plans for that future. It is what drives you to get through today and look forward to tomorrow.

So the advice is to always have something to do that interests you, someone to love who needs you and something to hope for that moves you. KT