A Moment For Reflection

As I scrolled through social media (mainly Twitter) on New Year’s Eve I saw many wanting to get into 2021 as soon as possible. After the year we had this is to be expected. However in time and as we have a chance to reflect I hope many will take stock of what 2020 taught them.

My name is Joe Pepperell and I am a PGA Golf Professional from Oxfordshire. I thought it was the right time to start a blog as a place for me to collect my thoughts and ideas. I can promise it won’t be all about Golf nor will it be about stock markets, political views or religion! This is purely a platform designed to share my ideas.

Uncertainty and Adversity can lead to opportunity

When it was announced that we were heading into lockdown at the end of March it created a level of uncertainty in my life like many across the country. On a personal level I had a shop full of stock ready for the new season that needed paying for with the potential of the business being closed for a significant period. PGA Professionals are generally busy throughout the year but especially between the months of March through to October. Knowing that we were going to be closed definitely created some sleepless nights initially! I say initially because once lockdown started things changed however. A sudden calmness came over me which I could not explain and a sense of it was time to get down to business even though there was no business to be had through regular means. On reflection, I feel it was a period in my life for the first time that I was out of my comfort zone and growth occurred. This uncertainty allowed me personally to adapt to the changing environment and I had to change my approach out of circumstance. I have heard my brother talk about this many times (and I believe it is one of his biggest strengths) without really taking any notice, but here I was exposed like many having to adapt to the ever changing situation. I was fortunate to get going in the middle of May with renewed optimism, a sense of gratitude and what felt like a more battle harden approach. I was lucky in the period between March and May to take on a nightshift job packing Ventilators at Penlon (a medical company in Abingdon) which were designed to go into the NHS nightingales. It was one of the most fulfilling things I have been able to do and a time I will look back on fondly working on a great project with a great team of people. I have seen many people across business sectors been able to adapt to the challenges faced last year, in particular in hospitality sector which has been very tough indeed. I know an individual who took on a village pub on in January 2020. At the end of March her pub was shut and she was relying on a takeaway service to keep her business going which she has managed and has been highly successful in doing so. This is just one example and I know there are many small businesses across the UK that have been able to adapt creating new opportunity in adversity!

Time is truly your most valuable commodity

Lockdown offered an opportunity to pause and collect our thoughts as we had plenty of time on our hands. The weather was fantastic and that initial 1 hour a day exercise I found invaluable. If it was going out for a run or a lovely walk along the Thames in Abingdon with my girlfriend, it allowed me an opportunity to quiet the mind with a time for creativity and ideas to flourish. It also allowed me to understand the importance of a work life balance in spending more quality time with my family. In previous years I would have found myself in that period being at work a lot, whether it would teaching all week or being in the shop looking after our fantastic members and guests . I now recognise that this was unhealthy on many different aspects of my life as well as being quite selfish. I made a commitment after we returned that I would address this which I’m glad I have. This has been a big positive for me and has allowed me to strike a balance accordingly. As a good friend in the industry says to me “Sundays are for roasts and family”!

That wise man from Hong Kong and the power of choice

Back in 2016 I was teaching a client from Hong Kong over a six month period. He was a successful businessman and was big into mindfulness and meditation which he felt helped him in his everyday life . Every time he came for a lesson he asked if I had downloaded the mindfulness app he kept recommending. After some initial scepticism I committed to this app for a month for 30 minutes everyday without fail. I can remember vividly after that period on how present and thankful I was. I had found a level of clarity I had not experienced before. The best way I can describe it was that everything was in balance and aligned. I can imagine it is a tool some elite golfers use and have heard Tommy Fleetwood credit some of his success to meditation. I didn’t watch too much Golf in 2020 but there were two consecutive Thursdays that stand out watching Tommy in particular, which any young aspiring Junior can learn from. These were at the Scottish Open and The BMW PGA respectively. On both occasions he was struggling on the front 9 considerably compared to the rest of the field however if you looked at his body language and demeanor you wouldn’t have known it! He looked incredibly present in the moment and the process he was trying to execute. For many in that situation the tournament would have been finished and a missed cut looking likely, however he managed to just miss out in a playoff in Scotland and a top 15 at Wentworth. Now I am not putting these two weeks results down to purely meditation but I am sure its a tool that has helped him greatly in his continued success. Furthermore his interview after his third round in Scotland was just brilliant the way he talked about embracing the horrific conditions and accepting the challenge that was presented on that day up on the East coast of Scotland. Again a valuable lesson any young golfer can learn from.

“Acceptance or a willingness to tolerate a difficult situation. The important part is acceptance is a wilful act. The ability to make choices is what makes us humans so incredible”.

A New Hope

New year usually means resolutions and setting goals for many. This is certainly something I have done in the past! This year however I wont be doing this. Instead I am going to try and take each day as it comes and try to put my best foot forward where possible. Unfortunately right now we are in the eye of the hurricane again with the global pandemic and the next few months will be very difficult before the vaccine can work in our favour. If I was using a cricket analogy and if this was a type of innings it would be like trying to save a Test match on a day 5 crumbling wicket rather than hitting a flamboyant century on the first day of the season at Lords! This is the time to stick in and take the situation for what it is but also recognise that there can be great power in that! The end of 2020 culminated in the birth of our first son AIfie. The time I have spent with him over the Christmas period has made me realise on how fortunate I am and has offered ‘a moment of reflection’ on what has been a mad year. I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year and here is to a better 2021.