By David Tepera, August 31, 2017

I have to admit, I’m not one who plays much golf. I’ve been hyperactive my whole life and couldn’t slow down enough to enjoy the slow pace of golf. My thought process was -“There are spikes on the bottom of my shoes, so why don’t we all sprint to the ball?”

Recently, I was invited to play with a small group of business friends. I have a beautiful set of oversized Callaways, golf gloves, visor, along with all the gear and necessities for a golf game. Believe me, I look like a pro. Everyone wants me to be on their team, until we practice at the driving range.

Yep, I can drive the ball a great distance, but 50 percent of the time, I can’t find it. My short game? You can plant a garden behind me from all the divots. Once on the green, it takes me three to four putts. I need a bigger hole on a flat surface.

So, as I began my journey to complete 18 holes, I found my golf game was similar to current life circumstances.

It’s been a bit of a rough-go over the past six months trying to find a solution to a particular important situation. I’ve researched many avenues looking for the best outcome, plus I put full effort into each of them hoping for success.

I found myself reflecting on this as I fought my way through each hole on the golf course. Typically, I would drive the ball through the trees into the rough. First, I would need to find the ball, then choose the correct club to get me back on course.

I was determined to complete each round with as little effort as possible, but it rarely turned out that easy.

As we all have learned, life isn’t easy, even when we are giving it our best. We find ourselves in the rough trying to get back on course, hoping for a better result.

My son Dylan just graduated high school and we both agreed for him to not start college until the spring semester. Dylan needed a break from academics and wanted to concentrate on working as a personal trainer to have a stronger sense of the responsibilities of the real world.

I told Dylan to go out there and fail. Give the world your best and learn from mistakes. You see, failure and mistakes only means you’re giving it your all. If you’re not falling, then you’re not learning to get back up.

None of us can escape circumstances when life knocks us into the rough. We have to gather ourselves, choose a different path and pursue getting back on course.

Just know, it’s OK when you’re giving life your all and you get knocked off course. Just keep pushing forward and accept you must play the ball where it lies because you’ll eventually reach your destiny.