Just Keep Showing Up

While watching March Madness games on my big screen Sunday, I had a smaller screen next to it broadcasting a relatively less glamorous sporting event.

The Houston Open golf tournament.

Back in 2023, pro golfer Gary Woodland began to struggle. He would soon learn he had a lesion on the part of his brain that caused him to live in fear that he was dying. He would eventually have surgery, which involved a baseball-sized hole cut from the side of his head to remove much of the lesion.

Woodland returned to the PGA tour in 2024 and appeared to be doing well. But a few weeks ago, he went public with the reality he's battling PTSD. He shared that he recently ran to a portable bathroom during a tournament to break down in tears when he was overcome with emotion.

Doctors have told Woodland that the high stress environment of pro golf isn't the best environment for what he's battling. But for Woodland, competing on the PGA tour is a childhood dream come true. One he's not willing to let go of so easily.

So he's kept showing up. He's put measures in place - has a team in his corner - that helps protect him from the people and situations that might unexpectedly spook him. But even so, showing up is a battle of its own. Each and every time.

This past Sunday, Woodland had a one shot lead going into the final round. He hadn't won a tournament in seven years; he certainly hadn't won since the surgery and subsequent mental health battle.

But there he was. Showing up. Battling. And ultimately - winning.

I won't lie, watching Woodland's wife run on to the 18th green to hug him after he won, and then seeing him crying in her arms, that got me. Yes, UConn sinking that last second shot to beat Duke on the big screen was big time emotional, but it was a different kind of emotion.

Because that golfer on the little screen looked a whole lot more like my life. And maybe yours. It looked like the temptation we all face each and every day to quit. To give up. To believe we will never defeat our demons.

And maybe we won't. But that doesn't mean they get to defeat us.

We get lost somedays I think - lost and wondering what on earth am I going to do now. Sunday, I was reminded that the best answers usually start with showing up.

Showing up.

Just keep showing up.