I hear people say all the time that they don’t believe in luck. If you think this, give me a break. I also know you don’t play golf. Once that ball leaves your club face the result is in the hands of the golfing gods and luck—good AND bad.

You put the ball in the air, it’s headed for the green and the landing spot you have picked out. As planned, it lands just short of the green so it can roll right up the green to the hole. Except it lands on a soft spot and sticks. Bad luck! Or, it lands on the green, takes a huge bounce and stops six feet from the hole. We think skill and birdie time. Sorry, just good fortune.

We can’t do anything about either result. Just bumps in the road of our lives. The key isn’t what happened, but how we relate to what happened. We are always having to deal with an unexpected result. If we just take it the way it lies without making the outcome mean something about ourselves, be it in golf or life, we now have the opportunity to create what’s next instead of bemoaning our bad luck or celebrating our good luck. Neither will help you with the rest of the day or the rest of your life.

In general we’re in good shape. You see, what happened inherently “has no meaning.” Neither is worthy of a big reaction. It is just what happened. Honor your luck with a tip of the hat to your good fortune and the same for the bad. Other than that there is nothing else to do. Whatever happened is over and part of past history. Handle what is in front of you, not behind or ahead.

Our reactions create the ups and downs in our lives. Too up or too down doesn’t work. A big high creates a crash that affects future performance adversely. A low doesn’t allow us to clearly see the next steps we need to take or severely depletes our energy that we need to perform at an effective level.

If there is a key to performance it might be to honor things as they are and are not. Appreciate the “good luck” and take the “bad luck” for what it is—bad luck. It doesn’t mean anything. It isn’t a sign of things to come. It is only the way it is because you say so. It is a circumstance. It is just what’s so. Take a couple of deep breaths and do what you need to do next. You ARE in charge of that.

And, don’t forget …

Visit Coach Todd’s little library of books to support having a quality life and lot’s of good luck.