Pushing

My current retirement job is as a golf course marshal at a resort.  A big part of my responsibility is to keep people on pace as they move around the course.  To do that I have to constantly keep pushing. 

 

The problem is entropy—the second law of thermodynamics—the tendency for a moving body to slow down or order to come to disorder. 

 

Knowing this common human tendency,  and knowing that the very beautiful piece of real estate with its stunning vistas and abundant wildlife  will be a distraction for the players, it is a proactive part of my job to remind people before they start, or early in their round, that the pace-of-play expectations will be enforced and why they are necessary.

The reason, of course, is that one slow person or group will slow down everyone behind them.  And when that happens, you have not only the one unhappy slow person who is being pushed, but the many unhappy people behind who are being inconvenienced as their expectations are being compromised or thwarted.  People have other plans during their day besides golf—luncheon or dinner appointments, airplanes to catch, etc. Most golfers love to be out on the golf course, but serious golfers don't appreciate 5- 5 1/2 hour rounds.

It was often the same in my career as a school teacher.  How often a teacher finds himself pushing students to make it to class before the bell rings and they are tardy. Or pushing to make assignment deadlines. Pushing—or being pushed—wears people out and nobody enjoys being on either end of it. 

Leading, of course, is always preferable pushing people.  But some people won’t be led. 

The antidote?  Simple courtesy is a good beginning point.  People need to think beyond themselves and always remember that they are not the only fish in the pond.  

One can extrapolate from either golf or school to the larger lessons in life:

 

·        Stay focused at the task at hand—especially if other people are involved, and always consider the effect of what you do will have on others.

·        Get qualified before you attempt a challenge that is beyond your abilities.  It has been said that ‘If you can’t run with the big dogs stay on the porch.’ I say, better yet, practice running on your own or with help from others until you can get ‘up to speed’ and then push yourself to maintain the pace. 

·        If you find yourself in the role of an ‘enforcer’—a parent, a teacher, a golf course marshal, a referee, etc., try first to lead by example, persuasion, proactive encouragement and clear instructions.  If these approaches are less than effective, have your expectations in writing so that if enforcement is necessary you have an objective set of rules that you can refer to that will support your expectations. 

The less you have to push, the less stress you will have in your life.  The less you have to be pushed, the less resentment you will have to deal with.  If persuasion does not ‘take,’ though, push yourself if you still choose to stay in the game. 


‘Push-back’ may be the topic for another essay some time.