One of the things I am most inspired by is triumph over adversity. This year's US Open golf tournament just encapsulates everything about what inspires me most, and Tiger Woods is most certainly one of the reasons why I keep on striving for better things.
I've liked Tiger ever since his amateur days, and I honestly feel blessed to be living in an age when I can watch the greatest golfer in the world work his magic on the golf course. All too often we just hear about the great ones (ex. Wilt Chamberlain, Secretariat, Babe Ruth, etc.) without ever having had the chance to live the moment of their greatest successes. With Tiger, the opposite is true. We see and FEEL the moment of triumph, right at the second it happens, and I celebrate with him. It's such a thrill watching him line up a "do or die" putt on the last hole of the Open (well, the last regulation hole) all the while KNOWING he's going to make it. Such a high, I swear.
This year's Open was accomplished on a very painful leg, which made it all the more miraculous. I mean, for anyone who's ever played golf, just having a slight twitch can cause you massive trouble. Imagine walking a total over over 37,000 yards (all 4 rounds plus the playoff) on a recently surgically-repaired knee? Not to mention all the pain caused by the immense level of torque his body generates at impact? I can't even begin to imagine how painful that is. I mean, I've suffered intense pain before, and been injured numerous times while playing sports, but I've never risked permanent injury and overcome all that pain to beat the best in the world. That's just inspiring to me.
Each time I feel a bit satisfied with my success I just look to Tiger and push myself harder. He just pushes me to strive for greater things, to never be satisfied, and to never let obstacles become an excuse for failure.
Thanks again, Tiger, for showing me the way.
