The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development.

I used to say, "If you take care of me, I will take care of you."

Now I say, "I will take care of me for you, if you will take care of you for me."  

- Jim Rohn

It is always a tough time of the season to write original content. Look around the internet, newspapers, or any magazine and somebody has an article with a few bits of wisdom and usually a list of some sort. I struggled with coming up with a new format, but you know what? It works the best. So here we go...

If there is an underlying theme with this blog, it is the quote above. As superintendents we do so much for our owners, courses, staff, families and friends that we rarely have enough left in the tank to take care of the most important piece of gear in the shed...ourselves.

Now I am not saying  that we need to become self centered or focused on ourselves to the detriment of others. On the contrary, this approach is based on giving all of those aforementioned entities the best of ourselves, and you can't do that if you are not being good to yourself.

Within the turf industry, professional development and continued education are viewed as essential tools for career development. I am going to propose a new theory. Your commitment to your own well being is the most important type of professional development that exists. All the conferences and seminars in the world won't mean much if you are driving yourself into the ground. If you are not committed to your own health, the rest simply does not matter.

Think for a moment about what our jobs would look like if attending to our personal well being were a mandated part of our day. If, as with answering emails, attending board meetings, or changing holes, we had to take the time to eat well, get out for a good long walk, and take some quiet time for ourselves. I realize it sounds a bit farfetched to say that exercise is as important to your day as making sure the greens are syringed, but I challenge you to take a moment and think about it. Imagine the difference in your professional life if your personal well being was top priority.

If we were healthy and at the top of our game, we could:

• Approach the problems we face daily with a balanced point of view
• Have the best of our mental faculties at our fingertips at all times
• Be able to deal with our human resource issues with a well rounded perspective
• Be better equipped to deal with the stress that is a given within our profession

More importantly, we will be able to give the best of ourselves to those close to us. So many of us have so much to give but it gets hidden under the weight of the stress of our jobs. If we can shed even just a bit of that weight, we come closer to being not only the best Superintendent we can be, but more importantly, the best person we can be.

So this year, give yourself a gift. Try to take  better care of yourself. Utilize a gentle, measured approach. You know best what works for your situation, so no "how-to" list this year. Just a simple shift in how you approach your own well being can make a huge difference in your entire life.

Happy New Year 2015!