TIGER WOODS AND "MESSING UP"

Tiger Woods has proven his humanity and has admitted his "messing up" to the whole world.  The purpose of this post is not to condemn or judge Tiger Woods.

  It would be hypocritical to condemn Tiger Woods for his serial affairs as we all "mess up".  We just do it in different ways.

No matter how famous or important a person is, they are not insulated from "messing up".  In fact, success sometimes blinds us to how we "mess up".  We celebrate our successes and develop a sense of false confidence.  We think we are invincible. 

We delude ourselves.  We have delusions.  We falsely believe that we can engage in self-defeating behavior and it will not harm us or those whom we love.

"Messing up" can take many forms.  It can be sexual infidelity.  Obesity, substance abuse, domestic violence, financial irresponsibility, procrastination and "giving up" are just some of the ways people "mess up".

What is "messing up"?  "Messing up" is, oftentimes, the pursuit of enjoyable activities that provide immediate pleasurable experiences, but unfortunately destroy long-range benefits of success.

"Messing up" is participation in activities that are self-defeating or harmful to those who are important to us.  "Messing up" is selfish. 

Oftentimes, we have false beliefs or delusions regarding "Messing up".  We can rationalize that we are hurting no one.  We can justify our behavior, because others are doing the same thing.  We minimize our indiscretions.  We can even con ourselves into believing that we deserve to "mess up" and have the right to " mess up".  We believe that we are rewarding ourselves when we "mess up", but in reality we are engaging in self-defeating activities that create a world of shame, punishment and negative consequences.

All of us "mess up".  Tiger Woods has brought to our attention the reality of "messing up" andthe need to take our own inventory.  We must identify and manage manage successfully our self-defeating behaviors.

Remember, We Live within the Environment Created by Our Choices!  From a mental fitness perspective there are many ways to manage "Messing up".  You can turn self-defeating behavior into successful taking care of yourself with mental fitness training.

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach