Today is a glorious day!  My four-year battle with non-Hodgkins Follicular Lymphoma has come to a turning point.  After 28 months of treatment I am finished!  This struggle presented many ups and downs, but thanks to my awesome wife who pushed, pulled, dragged, listened, lead, followed, and loved me every step of the way, I am turning the corner and running towards the “thrive zone”.

So what does any of this have to do with golf!  Mental wellness when fighting any serious incident in your life is critical to success.  Fighting a disease is no different.  Many experts state that meditation, stress relief and focusing on a positive goal are important to strong mental wellness.  I can tell you from personal experience this is absolutely true!

Throughout my entire ordeal, I used golf as my focused goal of healthy living.  I would sit and think about how to improve my game, how awesome it feels to walk down a fairway at 6 am, I would feel the joys of chipping in, or the joys of shooting my best score ever.  I would dream of opening day (which is still delayed this year, but I still dream), and I focused on the fantastic feelings of being successful on the golf course.  On those dark days, and there were a few, golf was my mental shining light to which I would run to with gusto!

Additionally, golf has help me focus on the four pillars of wellness – healthy eating, moderate exercise, stress relief and good quality sleep.  These guidelines are nothing new and their importance was reaffirmed from a support group that I am a member.  By adopting these important life-changing tenets, I was able to expand my mental wellness into areas of happiness, health, and joy.  Although I use this new life style to help address my medical challenge, it is something that would be beneficial for everyone.

Today is a fantastic day!  The love of my wife, daughter, friends and family have been nothing short of heroic!  I count my blessings everyday that they are in my life!

Golf is instrumental in my battle.  It provides focused goals that help my mental wellness.  Golf is a game of hopes and dreams for everyone.

I am a grateful golfer!  See you on the links!