The Obstacle Between You and Success? Excuses.

Several months ago I set a date for my end-of-year performance evaluation. The season ends Oct. 23 and the very next day I fly out to the Titleist Performance Institute for four days of very intense -- but not unwelcome -- feedback. I have a love-hate relationship with these evaluations. Of course I want to improve, but I can't say I really look forward to hearing a super-fit trainer tell me how pitifully out of shape I am.

So, after making the appointment I did what seemed most logical: I put it completely out of my mind.

Then my uncle, who's a personal trainer, came to watch me play at Travelers Championship. Since personal training is his business, he couldn't wait to take a look at all of the facilities and services the PGA Tour offers. He was amazed. And he was confused.

"Why are you waiting around until October to get in shape? What are you waiting for?" he asked.

It took me a while, but eventually I came around -- he had a point. The past couple of years in my professional golf career, I've gone through predictable peaks and valleys. In my off-season in the winter I go crazy and get in unbelievable shape. Then the season starts, I slowly let my habits go, and I convince myself that I already have enough to juggle during the week. If I added intense workouts to my schedule, I'd just be more stressed and too tired and sore to play well.

Hey, we all make excuses. (Mine mean that by the end of the season, I've often put on 20 extra pounds.)

So thanks to my uncle and a very helpful PGA trainer, I decided to stop waiting around for my performance evaluation, and start changing the outcome of it now.

For the last month I've been working with a trainer who has me on a schedule of six workouts a week. We started slowly so that I wouldn't burn out. I'm happy to report that my new routine has already helped my game. My energy level is at an all-time high and since I started, I've finished in the top 25 in two events. And, not surprisingly, it's lowering my stress, not increasing it -- even after I wind up taking a red-eye flight, sleeping only a few hours, playing a practice round, and then squeezing in a gym break. It even motivated me to break my four to five cokes-a-day habit.

It's funny the excuses that we come up with to not do the things necessary to get better at our jobs. What excuses do you tell yourself?

Flickr photo courtesy of jontunn, CC 2.0