turf talk
Sustained Success Playing life with character —on and off the green by Tom Fitzpatrick
T ennis coach Jim Loehr, founder of the J & J Human Performance Institute, offers an insightful look into high achieving athletes. We’ve been duped into believing that achievement is the be-all-end-all goal, says Loehr. If we achieve great things in life we are going to be happy. Jim actually found that athletes ranked #1 felt extremely unhappy, dissatisfied, and empty inside. They found it difficult to simply feel good about themselves. A common theme to overcome it was to achieve more, win more titles, which led to even more emptiness. If they could become a superstar all over again, that might overcome it. Instead, they still felt somewhat empty inside after having achieved more. We’ve been taught to believe that external achievements drive confidence, fulfillment and meaning to our lives. In fact, Loehr found that there is no evidence to support that achieving external success brings internal happiness. Going after external goals does drive a sense of excitement and energy, but in and of itself, it’s not that fulfilling. Achievement should instead be based upon being something much greater than personal self-interests. Building your character to be a more Let’s get the reason for our achievement correct so that we can become extraordinary human beings of great character.
work on it in the context of sport and competition. These included sportsmanship, honesty, kindness, humility and moral character. The result was the athletes became extraordinary achievers. They also found that their personal growth wasn’t linked to success in tournaments. They weren’t afraid to lose because if they did, it gave them a chance to work on how to resiliently handle those rough outcomes. Everything was put in the context of trying to become a better human being. Who you are as a person is more important than as a competitor. There is a distinction between performance character and ethical character. You can be a great performer, but be a zero in your moral and ethical character if you are taking shortcuts to be a winner at all costs. And this applies in business as well as in sports. The highest level of inner strength that a person has is found in how they treat other people, gratefulness and compassion. You would think these traits are at the opposite of the spectrum from winning. But in fact, Loehr found that treating other people nicely was at the heart of believing in yourself and feeling good about yourself so that you are a real
(L-R) Matthew Fitzpatrick, Barbara Nicklaus and Tom Fitzpatrick at Muirfield Village, where Barbara Nicklaus spoke about the tremendous fulfillment that she and her husband, golf legend Jack Nicklaus have found in helping others through their Children’s Hospital initiatives.
committed person to important causes can help you achieve fulfillment greater than yourself. When Andre Agassi re-purposed his tennis career to serve the needs of young people to build a charter school, a transformation took place. He was told that being ranked #1 with titles behind his name was a great thing. But it didn’t give him what he had hoped for in terms of satisfaction. The repurposing allowed him to work harder and with more determination than before. So, when he achieved #1 in the world again, a more stable form of contentment came. Let’s get the reason for our achievement correct so that we can become extraordinary human beings of great character. Avoid the roadblocks of low and overly high self-esteem. Let the treatment and concern for others grow so that something unique in our lives can happen. The Human Performance Institute studied younger athletes and found that the #1 reason for working so hard was actually to be a better, more character-driven person. They would pick a virtue and
force in any competitive battle. The moral character is the highest form of health that we can have and can help us achieve sustained success in anything we do.
Tom Fitzpatrick is a David Leadbetter certified instructor and an active realtor with Scenic Sotheby’s Intl Realty. Contact him at (850) 225- 4674 or tom@scenicsir.com
Tom Fitzpatrick
Jim Loehr, famed tennis coach and world-renowned performance psycholo- gist, researcher and author of 17 books.
38 | THE THIRTY-A REVIEW | MAY/JUNE 2025
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