Professional golfers play in televised tournaments. What are they doing outside of those events?

Practicing. Six to eight hours a day ... on the course, on the driving range, on the putting green. Practicing.

Even with all that practice, pro golfers are not perfect. They still make errant shots. Despite having developed superior skills, they can’t eliminate risk and uncertainty from the game.

Knowing all of this, it’s amusing to see a casual weekend golfer become irate after missing a shot.

On one hand, the professional (who trains constantly) expects to make mistakes. On the other, the hobbyist (who practices infrequently if at all) expects perfection.

The point is not to lower our expectations — but to align our expectations with our preparation and effort.

Professionals can and should expect professional results. Hobbyists should expect to have some fun along with hobbyist results.

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If we want to be exceptional in our fields of study, we don’t begin with performance. We begin with practice.