5 Lessons From The Tradition Unlike Any Other

What an incredible weekend.

The Masters, a tradition unlike any other, returned to full glory this past week with the crowds roaring, the azaleas blooming, and the stars shining. There's something about Augusta, the spring, and the world's best golfers vying for the most coveted prize that brings out inspiration, motivation, and appreciation.

As I sit here thinking about the hours I spent in front of the TV screen, I thought I would write up a few takeaways to share as reminders for us all since I may or may not feel a little guilty for all that time "wasted"... (blaming my achiever-self for that one).

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5 Lessons From The 2022 Masters

1. Beauty inspires greatness.

Augusta National is a golf course that, every single year, reaches into the realm of perfection. The immaculate care coupled with extreme attention to detail creates an environment that seems too good to be true (and anyone who has maintained grass or a golf course before knows how impossible this is).

There's something about beauty that inspires all of us. Whether it's a work of art, a stunning sunrise, spring flowers in full bloom, or even an aesthetically pleasing cafe with a carefully crafted cup of coffee--inspiration ensues.

We need reminders of beauty in the midst of a dark and depressing world. For many, life can seem to be one long, tragic experience. A brutal example of this is taking place on the other side of the world as I write this. Spending any amount of time consuming news or current events reminds us just how un-lovely this world is and can be. Beauty is important because it speaks to our inner-longing of good conquering evil and beckons our role to play in that story. It calls us to live on-purpose and to create or cultivate a small piece of that beauty that can redeem the broken, ugly reality of our world and even within each of us.

Beauty inspires greatness, and it gives us hope to keep fighting the good fight.

2. Humility is honored and respected by all.

If you haven't seen Scottie Scheffler's press conference after his first major win, it's worth a watch. What’s left the biggest impression on me, over the few months of his historic rise to becoming world #1, is the humility he carries.

Now don't get me wrong, there is undoubtedly a fierce competitiveness and a necessary self-confidence he possesses. He knows he is a great golfer, and he has to own that in order to win four out of the last six tournaments he's played in (no, that is not a typo), all at the ripe age of 25... incredible.

Instead of glorifying himself and his incredible accomplishments (insert most celebrities, unhealthy leaders, politicians, and... each of us in our own way), he gave glory to God and recognized all the people he leaned on to reach the finish line. He admitted his nerves, his fears, even his feelings of unworth.

At the end of the day, there isn't a person out there who can dislike Scottie for how he handled himself on golf's biggest stage. That is the power of living out of humility: earning the honor and respect of all who bear witness.

3. Ordinary people are capable of extraordinary feats.

From afar, Scottie is as normal of a guy as you can imagine (and if I had to venture a guess, he is the same up close too). If you don't know golf, have no idea who Scottie Scheffler is, and could care less, I guarantee you wouldn't take notice of him walking past you in the local grocery store. A very normal-looking guy, and unassuming in many ways.

Not only is he normal from the outside looking in, he's also a normal human from the inside-out. In his post-win interview, Scottie shared the fears he had before the final round, the doubts that he wasn't ready or capable of finishing off the tournament and putting on the coveted green jacket.

Every person who has or is accomplishing the extraordinary, the people we look to with awe and admiration, they still feel much of what you and I do. They still have the fears, doubts, disbeliefs that keep them up at night. And the great accomplishments we all are inspired by, those can be true of me and of you. Sure, you're not going to go win the Masters anytime soon, neither am I. Heck, I'm just trying to find a way to get tickets, let alone play August National.

But, we each are capable of extraordinary--out of the ordinary--accomplishments. I think about my wife, and how every person she sees asking for help at the intersection is a human of worth and value and deserves something, even if it's just a hand-warmer or granola bar. That is extraordinary. And that is something we are all capable of.

As Scottie's wife said: “who are you to say you're not ready?”

4. We tend to make things bigger than they seem.

This is true whether you are trying to win your first green jacket, or simply trying to pull off a smooth presentation for your boss and the team at work. Those moments, hours, or days leading up to the task cause us to lose sleep, be sick to our stomach, doubt everything about ourselves, and search for some hole we can crawl into.

The stage, no matter its actual size, is always intimidating to the person who is walking up on it. We all make the stage bigger than it really is... and yes, even the Masters stage. (E.g. - there's a high likelihood that over half of you reading this don't watch golf or care about The Masters.)

This reminder is needed for each of us, and maybe even you today. We make things bigger than they really are, and in a year's time we likely won't even remember whatever it is we've lost sleep over this past week.

So... pause, breath a little, remember what got you to this moment, think about the future perspective, accept whatever outcome awaits, and step onto that stage, into the moment, fully present and fully alive... it really isn't as big as it seems.

5. We are better together.

For as much of an individual sport as golf is, there is never a more apparent example of how we are better together.

- For The Masters to be The Masters, it needs the fans.
- For Augusta National to be Augusta National, it needs all of the people maintaining and working on all the details to bring each piece of the puzzle together into the masterpiece it is.
- For the golfers to be the best, they need their caddy to carry the weight (both literally and figuratively) of the round in decision making, stress-reducing, and companionship on the journey.
- For the individual to be their best and overcome their self-doubts, they need their partner to call them up to what they are capable of in spite of those fears.
- For the Legend, he needs the fans to support him through the pain of an improbable comeback to give him joy, encouragement, and hope for what's to come.
- Even incredible moments of elation on #18 are made that much better by a playing competitor following greatness with greatness.

These are but a few of the reasons why we are better together, and sharing in the highs, the lows, and everything in-between is as important as remembering: we are all only human.

I'm grateful for these reminders this past weekend, even if it took up 20 hours of my lifetime, at least they were hours... unlike any other.