Live Like There's No YesterdaySample

Day Five

What’s in Your Head?

Scripture: Isaiah 26:3; Romans 12:2; Philippians 4:8

A golf pro once observed me playing a particularly bad game of golf. He asked if I would like him to give me a few tips. Of course, I said yes! 

He told me that he thought my stance was good, my grip on the club was very good, and he liked the way I took the club back and swung through the ball. Then he looked straight into my eyes and said, “I’m concerned about your head.” 

I asked him if he thought I was moving my head around when I swung at the ball.

“No, I’m wondering about what is in your head! Like with this next shot, what do you see when you think about hitting the ball?” 

First, I described the trees near me and how the limbs extended out over the fairway, interfering with my shot. Then I told him of the dense trees on the other side of the fairway that were hard to get out of if I hit over there. Ahead were a couple of sand traps. Then there was that hill up ahead, and past the sand was the beverage cart, so I needed to avoid that.

“That’s your problem; you’ve just named every negative thing that could possibly happen to ruin your shot,” the pro said. “What’s in your head is keeping you from playing your best golf. What you need to do is think about where you want the ball to go, and then hit it! Swing freely. Don’t even think about anything else.”

This golf pro’s words have been helpful to me not just in my golf game but in my attitude toward life. Could it be that the secret to living like there’s no yesterday comes down to being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2)? Maybe it’s as simple as asking, “What’s in your head?” Maybe if we want to grow, we start with changing how we think. 

One starting place is to talk back to unhealthy inner statements. Just because we might think something doesn’t mean that thought gets the final word. With practice, we can stand up to our negative thoughts and tell them they are wrong. Then we can look ahead and “swing freely”!

What is a negative thought you tend to have about yourself? How could you “renew” your mind and rid yourself of that inner statement?