Seven Days in Utopia

            “How can a game have such an effect on a man’s soul?” This was the opening line to a movie I recently saw called Seven Days in Utopia. The movie was based on the life of Luke Chisholm who is an avid professional golfer. In the movie Luke has a metal breakdown while playing golf at a tournament to qualify for the Texas Open. In his anger and frustration Luke finds himself at a fork in the road while driving home. Its Luke’s decision to make a right hand turn that ultimately changes the course of his life, forever. After Luke wrecks his car he finds himself in the care of a stranger named Johnny, in a place called Utopia. It’s here in Utopia where Luke begins to find his “game” again through the help of former PGA golfer and mentor Johnny. Through those seven days Luke encounters several different lessons for golf. In the end though Luke finally surrenders control of his own life to a higher power and begins a fresh start in his golfing career. After reading the book and seeing the movie, I couldn’t help but think how some of the lesson’s Luke learned don’t only apply to golf but to my life as well.
            Conviction; this was Luke’s first lesson. I laughed this entire chapter of the book, because I couldn’t stop thinking of my writing journal. The entire chapter and part of the movie, Luke focused on “whys?” “Why do I hold my club this way?” Why do I stand the way I do? I couldn’t help but think of the purpose of the personal reflection section of the writing journal is really to focus on the “whys” of my life. Why I am the way I am? Why I made that decision and what effect it had?

            The second lesson Luke learned was about controlling one’s own emotions. See in golf if you let emotion win over a bad shot then the whole round is lost. It takes control to let the bad shot go and not fret over it to be able to continue playing that round and do a great job. This doesn’t apply just to golf though, if we let emotions win over bad decisions in our lives then we begin to dwell in the past all the while forgetting that life doesn’t stop for us. If we learn to control our emotions and not let life get to us, then the world might become a better place. Suicide rates would go down, homicides and crime would follow. In my life I try to control my emotions daily and not let the little things bug me. I’m not saying that I’m perfect, I’m actually far from it, but I am saying that we should all strive to be better.

            Luke’s next lesson involved painting a picture, the basis behind the painting was to take a step back and look at the big picture. To truly see the beauty within life sometimes all we have to do is stop and take a step backward. Then we need to ask ourselves is this really the road I want to head down. This lesson tied back to controlling the emotions, if we let emotions run our live then we will never head down the right path to happiness. I believe this is the reason behind the Round River Journals in T. Millers class. Sitting out in nature for an hour allows for stress and anxiety to disappear, and ultimately allows for one to look at the big picture.

            Breaking tradition was the next lesson. In golf traditions are sacred, however every once in a while an athlete or a company will break that tradition to form a new one. It’s because of the breaking of tradition that athletes or equipment become better. In history and life there have been many traditions. For instance the idea that the father worked while the mother stayed at home and did the chores, now the women workforce has increased and less and less mothers are staying home. I remember a commercial in which the advertisers posed a question “what if we had settled for the first of everything?” they then preceded to flash images of ‘first’ things, like the first radio, first car, etc. The world would definitely be a different place if we had settled for “firsts”, just like the world would be different if we didn’t challenge and break traditions. There would be no Rock and Roll, and we’d all still be ruled by a king. Personally I’m glad that our ancestors pushed the limits of their traditions.
            One of the last lessons Johnny taught Luke was how to prepare for emergencies. In golf sometimes we find ourselves in less than ideal conditions or locations. A skilled golfer will use these problems to his advantage, and that’s what Johnny wanted to teach Luke. In life we are often faced with decisions that seem less than ideal. We can complain about the situation or we can put forth our best and use the condition to our advantage. Luke learned that to prepare for emergencies he had to apply what he had learned earlier.
            “See it. Feel it. Trust it.” That was the main idea that Johnny wanted to teach Luke. See the big picture and weigh the options. Imagine how the swing or decision will feel. Then trust it. Trust that you made the right decision and see the decision through to the end. As a reminder to do all three before each swing, Johnny proceeds to write SFT on Luke’s ball. Each time Luke gets ready to take a swing he is reminded to see it, feel it and trust it. In life when we make a hard decision it’s very easy to not commit to it, which results in failure on our part, because we did not follow through. Never second guess, and don’t live in the past.

            I’ve taken what I’ve learned from both the book and the movie and have begun to apply it to my own life. At first I thought it was going to be difficult but now I realize that I had already been doing most of that to begin with. The new concept of SFT to me was new though. Now all my golf balls are marked with it as a reminder to live out those words. Now to answer the question “how can one game have such an impact on a man’s soul?” Let the game control you and you will lose against it. Control the game, and you will control your fate. Such a simple concept, yet so hard to live. At the end of both the book and the movie, Johnny has Luke bury some of his lies; lies that Luke had based his life on. Some were “My golf scores are a reflection of my self-worth… Failure in golf is failure in life… The opinions of others are paramount in the choices I make… Tradition is sacred and never meant to be changed.” After reading over his entire list I decided to look at my own life and see if I could make a list. I put a lot of thought into it and finally came out with a list that was ironically similar to Luke’s list. I believed that a failing grade was failing at life. I believed that you are not to challenge tradition.  I also believed that the opinion of others was far more significant than what I thought of myself. A failing grade on a test or piece of homework I now realize is not failing at life. If I continue to get the same grade on other assignments it’s only a failure at study habits, which can be changed and improved upon.  Tradition is meant to be changed, and it’s meant to be challenged. Man would never have been able to fly if it weren’t for a challenge in tradition. If I believe differently then somebody else then I’m going to challenge them and the way they think in an attempt to change their mind. While I do love my friends and the advice they give me, sometimes it’s better for me to be myself. Influence is good most of the time except the times when the influence is intended to make me become the person they want. From here on out it’s my life. 100 years isn’t all that long, the big question for me was whether or not I was going to be in charge of it or let somebody else run my life for me.

            “How can a game have such an effect on a man’s soul?” How can one person’s opinion affect your life? How can one bad relationship ruin all the others? They can’t. It’s a matter of choice. I can choose to let that one bad comment ruin my day or I can listen to the other 5 compliments that I got and enjoy my day. The decision is mine. My decision is final. I’m taking back my life from outside influences and placing it within the hands that I know I can trust. My decisions will affect how my life goes, not somebody else’s decisions for me. My life is no longer a golf score that I’m trying to birdie; my life is what I make of it.