A Life Lesson From Golf

A professional golfer once informed me that the biggest reason most golfers’ scores don’t improve much is that they tend to play with other golfers whose skill levels are roughly the same as their own. As a result, there’s no one to learn from, so there’s no growth or improvement. The same holds true for other aspects of life: people tend to surround themselves with others who are at the same level as they are. While this makes for a very comfortable situation, there’s no one to learn from, so there’s no opportunity for growth. This is not to say that you shouldn’t hang out with people you’re comfortable with, but also make some room in your life for people you can learn from–people who are going to challenge you and force you to expand your comfort zone. I recently came across a quote that I think is appropriate: “Successful people continue to learn and grow while unsuccessful people think they already know.”