Tiger Woods was the ultimate grinder in my opinion. He would fight, claw, and never lose focus. Saving a stroke here, making a put there. In the end it added up to a lot of wins. Watching him a bit this weekend, it looks like he’s lost that edge. He’s lost the focus. If he didn’t say a word, his body language says to me. I’m pissed. I’m stressed. I can do this. Other shit is on my mind.
To me, he’s just out of balance. To do an exceptional job, you need a high degree of stability in other parts of your life to focus and grind out the big challenges. Take your job, like Tiger plays golf. He’s the world’s best golfer when his home life is stable. He’s able to devote himself to golf. He has family responsibilities, but his mental energy is on golf. All the time. He may be reading to the kids, but he’s working out his swing in his head. He may be changing a diaper, but he’s visualizing the contour of the green.
Over the years, I’ve seen some great people start to struggle at work. Usually something in there life has significantly changed. They are going through a divorce, dealing with dieing parents, or struggling with drugs. It’s something that takes away there ability to grind. To always have that one thing in their mind that they are working on around the clock.
I suspect Tiger will win again if he’s ever able to get back to where golf is the number one thing on his mind.
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