Power-Up Friday: BE all that you can BE

This week, I’m reporting from Rochester’s Oak Hill Country Club and the Senior PGA Championship, where being 50 makes you a “senior”. My brother’s old high school classmate, Jeff Sluman, made the roster this year. My YOUNGER brother…

Elsewhere, the sports world was rocked by the retirement announcements of two of the greatest women in modern sports history – Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam and Belgium’s Justine Henin.

Sorenstam is the dominant woman golfer of the last quarter century. Although plagued with neck problems last year and bumped out of the #1 ranking by Mexican superstar Lorena Ochoa, Sorenstam has already won three times this year. Her 72-win total puts her one behind Jack Nicklaus, a mark she could easily beat before year’s end. She stands ahead of Palmer, Hogan and Woods in victories, and since Annika’s only
37, Kathy Whitworth’s all-time record of 88 was well within reach.

Henin, who has been #1 on the tennis circuit for 18 months, pulled out right before this week’s French Open, which she has won three straight times. She won 10 tournaments last year and is only 25 years old. She alluded to the fact that she had “hit the wall”.

All of us must deal with some decline in our physical abilities as we age. It must be incredibly difficult to maintain the competitive edge required to compete at such an elite level.

Readers of Bill Thomas will know that the move from adulthood to elderhood involves a gradual transition from a life rich in “doing” to one rich in “being”. But long before we start collecting Social Security checks, many of us make adjustments in this dynamic of our lives, in little or big ways. Elders are the best mentors helping us to navigate
these waters.

Somewhere in the recent past, a voice of experience may have told these women that, while it’s great to make a “run for the roses”, it’s important at some point to stop and smell them too.

We could all learn a lesson here. It’s a good time to reflect on our lives, see if the balance is getting off-kilter, and find ways to readjust our priorities. We could take a tip from the US Army, who might have coined the slogan, “Do all that you can do”, but instead opted for “Be all that you can be”.

Good luck, Annika and Justine, in the next phase of your lives!

-- Al Power