WS#47 - How have you redirected your childhood energy?
Week of 3/4/24
“I wonder why golf is so popular with young guys?” My wife Jackie made this comment to me the other day as I was watching a golf tournament. This was on a day where I had gone to hit golf balls at 5:30am and told her that there was another young man doing the same thing around 6am. On its face, it does seem strange to be obsessed with a game that takes so much of your time and money, is incredibly frustrating, and is not your profession. Why do so many people spend so much time playing, practicing, and thinking about golf? I think the answer goes deep and back to when we were kids and is most likely the same reason many people spend so much time in the gym.
When I was a kid, like many others, I spent most of my time playing. That play turned into competition which then turned into what I spent most of my time doing and thinking about until I was in my twenties: baseball. Baseball was on my mind almost 24/7 and nothing was a close second. This is not a unique story. My wife’s version of this was dancing and singing. Others spend their time playing instruments or creating art. Some put that energy into video games. It is rare for kids to just be sitting around doing nothing. There is some amount of energy being put into a task or hobby and that energy turns into obsession. For me, that obsession was fueled by competition and the ability to get better at something. That still fuels my obsessions. What happens to that energy when we grow up and the real-world smacks us in the face? It does not disappear, it just gets aimed in a different direction.
I want to note, this conversation goes deeper than where I am going to take it and a psychologist would do a much better job explaining what happens to us as we age. But, I will do my best.
Personally, golf has taken the place of baseball. I had a game that I spent my entire life working on and, suddenly, I was done. That was not an easy pill to swallow. After baseball was out of the picture, there was a major void for years. My life was mostly just going to work, hanging with friends, working out, and going out to drink/party. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed that period of my life, but when I think back, it was clear that I had not found a place to redirect all that energy that I used to put into baseball. Baseball provided me a means to compete, get better at something, move my body, express competency, be surrounded by likeminded people, escape my busy mind, and much more. When I think about those benefits, there aren’t many things that can check all those boxes as we age. This is where golf and fitness come in.
For so many people, golf provides an accessible activity where we can compete, improve, and escape for a few hours. If it didn’t check these boxes, I don’t think so many young men would be playing the game as much as they are, and I doubt that so much hard earned money would be spent on it. Fitness does the same thing. That time in the gym allows us to improve ourselves, express competency (this is why people tend to work on the areas where they are already strongest), compete, feel strong, and escape the stresses of our daily lives. Of course, fitness is used as a means of staying healthy, however, I don’t think that reason alone is motivational enough to encourage most people to stick to a routine for decades. The gym is an incredibly dynamic environment, and it serves a different purpose for everyone. Many people are there to put on a show, compete, surround themselves with likeminded individuals, become more attractive, and so much more. It checks a lot of boxes.
So, what’s the point? Although this was an observational piece and mostly stream of consciousness writing, I think it is important to understand why we spend our time in the ways that we do. Time is our most valuable currency and many of us waste too much of it, including myself. If I did not have golf and fitness in my life, I have no idea the type of person I would be. I am thankful to have found places to re-direct my energy. I find golf and long-term fitness to be a worthwhile pursuit and without them I do not think I would be happy with the person I would be. If you spend a great deal of time in the gym, it is worth thinking about why, and what motivates you. This will help you clarify your goals and hopefully become more efficient with your time.
Where have you redirected your childhood energy?
-Matt