We Would Have Taken This on Monday Morning
A week ago today, Rory McIlroy won the Masters and completed a career Grand Slam. If you're a golf fan or follow sports at all, you've likely seen the footage of the missed putt on 18, the subsequent playoff hole, and the post-match interview. After winning, McIlroy was as emotional as I've ever seen a golfer, clearly overwhelmed by the moment. He had tried to win the Masters 16 times before coming through this year. He had been chasing the career Grand Slam for over a decade. All the emotion came pouring out of him once he clinched both.
In an interview after the tournament, one of the first comments he made was about the narrative surrounding his pursuit of this title. "I don't know what we're going to talk about leading up to next year's Masters." That was telling. It gave a glimpse into McIlroy's mindset, and just how much this weighed on him. He was chasing it. He knew everyone was watching him chase it. Knowing that, I couldn't help but think: had he not been able to come through in the playoff and win--after being that close--I'm not sure he would have been able to recover from it.
We'll never know. He was able to bounce back like a true champion.
In that same interview, McIlroy shared another brilliant insight into the importance of perspective and mindset in elite performers. Clearly deflated and frustrated, with body language just oozing exasperation, he slumped into the golf cart with his caddie, Harry Diamond. They started the drive back to the 18th hole--the very hole where he just missed the clinching putt--where he would tee off in the sudden-death playoff hole vs. Justin Rose.
Trying to reset his golfer's focus, Diamond said, "Well pal, we would have taken this on Monday morning."
Meaning: yeah, missing that putt on 18 sucked. Would've been nice to clinch in regulation. But you and I both would have given our right arm before this tournament started to have the opportunity to play in a sudden-death playoff to win the Masters.
Immediate perspective shift.
The focus was no longer on regret for what didn't happen, but gratitude for what could.
After missing a makeable putt on the final hole of regulation, it would be easy to enter the playoff from a place of fear. To ruminate on the circumstances that got him there (I choked!) rather than embracing the opportunity he had in front of him. Instead, with ten simple words, Diamond was able to help McIlroy shift his mindset from disappointment and playing not to lose to gratitude and playing to win. The rest, as they say, is history.
Great athletes are able to stay in the moment and focus on present execution, knowing what happened in the past--whether that was 10 years ago or 10 seconds ago--has little to no bearing on what they're doing right now. But this was more than that. This was understanding, embracing, and appreciating that everything McIlroy did to prepare for the Masters actually worked. It may not have felt like it when he missed that putt on 18, but with Diamond's simple Jedi mind trick he was able to help Rory see the forest through the trees. Just days earlier, he would have signed in blood to have a sudden-death shot at a Masters championship. And that's exactly what he had in front of him. How he got there didn't matter. But what he did with the opportunity meant everything.
This stuck with me, and is something I will try to carry each day, especially the bad ones. We always want more. We want to do better. We want to strive for perfection. But on this Easter Sunday, remember: none of us are perfect.
Did I have a bad day, week, or month? Maybe. But if you asked me 20 years ago if I'd be happy with a beautiful wife, three great kids, good friends, a career that challenges me, and spending time by the ocean?
Damn straight. I would have taken this on Monday morning.