It isn’t easy to write this because I have been laughing so hard I ended up crying. And I really shouldn’t be laughing because it is at someone else’s expense – my husband’s. You see we have some hanging baskets. Three of them. Now, if Pete came out the front door and walked four steps straight ahead he would be on the drive. If he came out the door and turned left and took three steps he could use the pavers to cross a tiny bit of lawn to the driveway. But, no; instead he takes a supposed shortcut and bashes his head on the bottom of a hanging basket. Now, it’s important to know that it’s only about four steps to the drive and then another couple to the carport. Anyway, he bashes his head every time and it causes me to laugh hysterically because he does it over and over and over again. The language would turn a chameleon purple and he threatens to ‘throw the effing thing into the trash’ every single time it happens. He has banged his head in the same spot so many times he actually has an X marks the spot scar there.
However, every time he hits his head it reinforces something for me – ‘If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always got.’ Think about that and repeat it. ‘If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always got.’ If you keep trying to take a shortcut you’re going to keep cracking your scone.
Now, you can apply that to your bowls – well, you can apply it to all sorts of things but we are talking bowls here. Today was a good example. I had to play the semi-finals of our 65+ champs. So, I had to play three games because when we started only two of us had two lives left. I still have two lives and now have to play the final. Hopefully, I can win the first game but if not then I have to play the same opponent again as he only has one life. Sorry, I’m waffling.
Today we had some squiffy weather and the breeze was quite erratic. I discovered very quickly that if I pretty much ignored the wind and stuck to my line I would succeed – and I did. Sometimes, I had to make a minor adjustment but I concentrated on staying calm and steady. We had a strong tail wind and a hefty head wind, so, again, I kept it quiet and easy. Heavy, fast shots just veered off in the wind and if not enough pace they just pulled up short.
If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got – with that in mind I didn’t find it too difficult to get my bowls close to the jack. I just stuck to what I knew would work and it paid off. I just had to keep doing the same things over and over.
If Pete wants to keep doing the same thing and cracking his head that’s fine but I plan to keep finding my line and weight and heading for the jack.
