How many times have you looked a photo and realized that it was five years ago. Guaranteed your first thought is that seems like it was yesterday. There is no way that was five years ago. And as you look at that picture you will realize how different your life is now versus then.
Five years… That is how long it has been since Jason Day has won a golf tournament on the PGA tour. But all that changed on Sunday with a win at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
“It feels strange to be sitting here. I don’t know how else to explain it. To go through what I went through and then to be able to be a winner again.”
Jason Day
Like you, Day has been through many ups and downs in the past five years. On the physical side with back pain and bouts with vertigo. And on the mental side with the loss of his mother and doubts of weather he’d ever be good enough to win again. He was seriously considering retirement and had huge doubts if he could continue physically or mentally.
If golf teaches us all one thing it is to stick it out and keep going. There is always another chance or shot even when you are having the worst day of your life. Perseverance!
Keeping the Goals Simple
In 2020 Day began working with swing coach Chris Como. The initial goal was simple… Get Day swinging pain and injury-free. That plan worked and Day was able to play in over 40 tournaments in the last two years. And the results were not good at all. While he was pain-free enough to enter, making the cut was not a common occurrence for him.
Much like everything else in life… putting in extra work doesn’t always pay off at first. You must keep going when faced with constant failure. For Day, that break through has begun in the 2023 season. He has seven top-10 finishes and is constantly placing in the top 25.
The next time you see a photo from your past remember how much you have changed, how far you have come in the face of adversity. And if you are at a low point, think of Jason Day and remember that it is possible to get stronger physically, mentally, and financially to overcome diversity.