Let me start by saying that I fancy myself a golfer, sometimes a good one, often a frustrated one.
I’m always a little curious though when I see various “Greatest Athletes” lists, and I see golfers like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, etc. It’s kind’ve like when I turn on ESPN14 or whatever, late at night, and I see darts or poker. Isn’t there a difference between games and sports? If not, I guess poker players are athletes, but if there is a difference, than poker players are most definitely not athletes, and poker should be relegated to the GSN channel.
In my opinion, here is a list of “games” that are often confused as “sports”
- Poker: Can anyone really argue with this?
- Darts: Ummm, pretty much like poker. I think as a rule, if its primarily played in bars and cigarettes replace Gatorade as the vital replenishment of choice . . . lets assume it’s a game.
- Bowling: This one is a little dicey, but bowling alleys are really the cousin to bars, and since I’m also generally lousy at bowling, I’m relegating it to this list. I further use the logic that while most/many women generally dislike playing sports, most/many are willing to bowl . . . especially if it’s a first date for some reason.
This guy is an athlete . . . right??
Golf is right on the edge. I wouldn’t strenuously argue with someone who can’t call it a sport. There is a lot of walking involved though, generally over 5 miles over 18 holes, and for that reason, I’m going to call it a sport . . . although I still have a hard time calling golfers athletes.
So what does any of this have to do with Mary-thon? Well, not much honestly. However I was thinking about when I start running/walking or whatever, how I check the nearest clock, and how I obsess with my watch while I’m doing my daily Mary-thon, and as soon as my 30 minutes are up, to the second, I’m pretty much done. I can’t help but think that my attitude probably affects my long-term enthusiasm. Golf was similar for me. I would obsess so much with each stroke, that by the end of the round my satisfaction with golfing was solely dependent on what my score was. Regardless of whether I hit good shots or putted well, if I didn’t score well than I was dissatisfied. Finally, when I was by myself, I stopped keeping score. I would just keep track of pars and birdies . . . and occasional eagles, and found myself enjoying golf more.
Using similar logic; when I start my workouts, I’ll look at the start time, but then ignore the clock. I generally always listen to music, and just keep track of how many songs I’ve listened to. Typically each song is 3-4 minutes, so after 9 songs I know that I’m probably done, and if not then one more song will finish it. Often I like having that last song because I’ll push myself harder knowing that its only a few minutes long.
I find that I enjoy the exercise more, as I’m less a slave to the clock.
Just a mental trick that’s helped me . . . maybe it’ll help you. Good luck, Keep Moving Forward!