John Rahm is a polarizing figure on the PGA Tour. Some people love him for his heart-on-the- sleeve approach to golf, many more have found his emotional outbursts at tournaments to be unacceptable. In an ESPN SC Reports profile on the Spanish golfer, Rahm explained that working with a mindset coach led him to journaling as a means of helping him to better handle his negative emotions.
Rahm’s new approach to expressing his inner feelings might have been the reason he acknowledged being born with a club foot at a tournament press conference. Rahm overcame this challenge by developing a shorter backswing when playing golf. His story is the classic making lemonade out of lemons approach to life that can be learned from so many champions who have overcome adversity by focusing on personal strengths that set them apart from the rest of the pack.
Rahm’s comments about his club foot found their way to Phoenix Small, a fourteen year old golfer in Utah who also has club feet. Rahm hosted Phoenix at a PGA tournament where the boy told SC Reports, “To know that he’s really good at a sport, it made me realize I could maybe do sports.” The inspirational gift of hope that Rahm gave to Phoenix is a reminder that nobody goes through life without facing challenges and one of the best gifts that we can give is sharing the wisdom we learned from our greatest pain to assist others who are struggling with the same pain.
Watch the ESPN SC Reports story here.
ESPN
https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/33656000
