Do Over

01 Aug 2018 Comments Off

Dear Fellow Journalers,

This month we will be treated by some of G‘s perspectives. This one is really good.

Enjoy,

~Sallie

I’m an amateur golfer, a VERY amateur golfer. I play with a bunch of old guys like me. We’re out there for the exercise and the camaraderie, not the competition. So if someone makes a really bad shot, we give them a “do over.” A second chance to make less of a fool of himself. It’s all in good fun. No one really cares who wins.

I got to thinking the other day about how nice it would be to get a “do over” at life. You know, a chance to do things better the second time, and the first mistake wouldn’t count. But such is not our lot in life. We must live with our mistakes, and take the consequences of them.

So let’s have a little fantasy here. Let’s pretend that we get a “do over” at whatever mistakes we made. And let’s expand that to include the things we did that were not mistakes, just things we wish we could have done better.

Taking a minute to examine things we’d like to do over, we discover they fall into 3 distinct categories:

Things we did that we didn’t have the knowledge and or skills to do 2. Things we did in the heat of some emotion or passion 3. Things we were forced to do, but really didn’t want to

Looking back at the thing you’d wish to “do over”, I think you’d wish that you would first change which ever one of those things compelled you to act. Change the motivation and you can change the outcome. I think that’s the place to start.

Next thing you’d need for a “do over” is permission. Not one of my golfing friends can “do over” unless all of us agree. Permission must be granted by any party who was aggrieved. No permission, no “do over”.

The last thing to think about is do you really want a “do over.” If you did the best you could the first time, your “do over” might just make things worse. You should be sure a “do over” is the best thing to do. Maybe you should just leave well enough alone.

Someone a lot smarter than me once said that the only time close counts is in horseshoes and hand grenades. Maybe then the best thing to do is forget about “do overs” and just do the best you can the first time.

EVERY DAY IS A TRAINING DAY—LIFE IS THE LESSON TO BE LEARNED !

“The difference between genius and stupidity is genius has its limits.”~Albert Einstein

It doesn’t take long for information to become knowledge, but for it to become wisdom sometimes takes a lifetime. — Preeta Krishna