One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

This morning, I suddenly asked myself a question: “What kind of person do I truly admire?” The answer came to me surprisingly quickly. I admire people who live their lives sincerely and wholeheartedly. But when I thought about it more, I realized there are three qualities I value most: Consistency. Personal responsibility. Social responsibility. I admire people who don't just work hard for a short time, but keep going. People who take responsibility for their own choices instead of always blaming someone else. And people who don't live only for themselves, but also care about the people and society around them. Those are the people I find truly impressive. Recently, I realized that I had come to admire someone I have known for quite some time. We have played golf together for more than a year. So, of course, it wasn't something I decided after seeing him for a few minutes. 😊 Over that time, I had the chance to see how he approaches golf, how he treats other people, how he ...

Venice, Vienna, Paris, London… I traveled to Hong Kong many times, visited Singapore, and went to Hawaii more than once. I lived in San Francisco and played a lot of golf there. I have seen many beautiful places around the world. And of course, there were places like Niagara Falls that were simply breathtaking in scale. But something interesting happened as I traveled more. The more of the world I saw, the more beautiful my hometown, Seogwipo, became to me. Not just because of the scenery. Because it is home . My neighborhood friends are here. My old school friends are here. My family and relatives are here. If I have a problem, I can call someone. There is always someone who will help me. When I was younger, I sometimes thought having too many people who knew me was uncomfortable. I wanted my privacy. I wanted to be independent. But now, I see it differently. Having people who know me makes me feel safe. Sometimes a relative or one of my siblings will call and say, “Come and get some ...

These days, I’m having a lot of fun just living my everyday life. For a while, especially after COVID, I thought a lot about living a life on my own. I think many people did. Being alone can be comfortable. You don’t have to worry about other people, and you can simply do whatever you want. But these days, my thoughts have changed quite a bit. The better our relationships with people are, the more enjoyable life becomes. I don’t mean that we need to meet lots of people. I simply mean being a little warmer and kinder to the people we happen to meet throughout the day. Sometimes, that alone can make an ordinary day feel much better. Something like that happened this morning. The forecast said it was going to rain all morning, so I had decided not to go to the driving range. But suddenly, the weather changed. “Oh? Maybe I can go after all!” So I quickly got ready and went to the driving range a little later than usual. But when I arrived, there wasn’t a single spot available on the first ...

It had been raining for almost two days. The weather forecast said it was going to keep raining this afternoon, too, so I thought I should just stay home. But after staying inside for so long, my back started to hurt, and I felt so restless. Around noon, I took my dogs for a walk and looked up at the sky. For some reason, I had a feeling that it wasn't going to rain anymore. The forecast still said rain, but the sky looked different to me. I thought, “Hmm… I don't think it's going to rain.” So I decided to go to the driving range. I was getting so restless that I thought I was going to go crazy if I stayed home any longer. ㅎㅎ Of course, I had to be careful because of my two Jindo dogs. When I'm home, they stay inside the living room with me. But when I go out, they stay in the yard. There is a small shed where they can get out of the rain, but especially in summer, I try not to make plans when it's raining. So I told myself, “I'll go to the driving range, and if...

My alarm is set for 4:30 a.m. But Ruby and Rich don't seem to care. They often start their day one hour early. 3:30 a.m. I can hear them moving around, asking me to get up. “Mom, let's go for a walk!” And I mumble from under my blanket, “Not yet. It's too early. We still have one more hour.” 😂 Honestly, sometimes I get annoyed. Why do they have to wake me up at 3:30 when my alarm is set for 4:30? It's still dark outside, and I want to sleep for another hour. So I go back to sleep, while Ruby and Rich wait impatiently for their morning walk. But today, I suddenly thought about it differently. They are already ten years old. And thankfully, they have grown old without any serious illness so far. They still eat well. They still sleep well. They still have plenty of energy. And most importantly, they still get excited about going for a morning walk. At 3:30 in the morning. 😂🐶🐶 Suddenly, the thing that sometimes annoys me became something I felt grateful for. That 3:30 a...

This morning, while walking with Ruby and Rich, I suddenly felt tears in my eyes. Every morning, they still bother me. “Let’s go for a walk!” They wake me up, ask me to hurry, and remind me again if I take too long. Usually, I think of it as just part of my daily routine. But this morning, I suddenly felt grateful for it. I looked at them and thought, How long will they be able to walk beside me like this? It has already been three months since Ruby fell off a cliff. At that time, I was too busy trying to save her, taking her to the hospital, and treating her wounds to really think about what had happened. I only had one thought: I had to save her. Recently, one of my old blog posts became popular again and moved up the list. So I read it again. It felt like the person I was three months ago and the person I am today were sitting across from each other, with that old post between us. And this time, I realized just how serious the situation had been. There were rocks below the cliff, th...

Today, I completed my biggest project of the year. 🌱 It wasn't a golf tournament. It wasn't a work project. It was my winter vegetable garden. 😂 Jeju has relatively mild winters, so many vegetables can grow outdoors without freezing. If I plant winter cabbage, young cabbage, lettuce, and other vegetables in the fall, I can enjoy fresh vegetables from my own garden throughout the winter. So, I finally completed everything I had planned. A week ago, I cleaned up the entire garden. Three days ago, I spent two full hours turning over the soil with a shovel. I was sweating so much that I felt like I had just come out of a sauna. 😂 And honestly, I loved it. Yesterday, I went to the local market and bought all the seeds and seedlings I needed. This morning, after walking my dogs, I looked at my garden and said: “Ready to go!” 🌱 Then I spent another two hours planting everything according to my plan. Project complete! ✅ Now I am already looking forward to the lon...

I don't think I have more luck than other people. I think I've simply learned how to notice it. We often hear that everyone gets a few big strokes of luck in life. But these days, I wonder if luck comes to us much more often than that. Maybe many of our lucky moments are just too small to notice. For me, a good cup of coffee can be a little piece of luck. A delicious meal shared with someone I like can be a little piece of luck. A beautiful golf shot that comes unexpectedly can be a little piece of luck. Even a funny scene at a swimming pool can become a little piece of luck. Yesterday, for example, I saw several senior swimmers secretly following an aqua exercise class from a distance. They knew they weren't actually part of the class, and they were smiling as they copied every movement. It was so funny that I started laughing to myself. And then, without even realizing it, I started following along with them in the water. Yes, I joined their little secret lesson, too. ㅎㅎ ...

When I was younger, I made plenty of mistakes. Some decisions turned out to be the wrong ones. Some paths led me somewhere I never wanted to be. I wish I could say I always made wise choices. I didn't. Life taught me through trial and error. Looking back, however, I don't regret those years. They helped me discover who I really am. Every wrong turn taught me something. Not only about life... But also about myself. One thing I'm grateful for is this. Whenever I realized I was walking in the wrong direction, I didn't stay there for long. I stopped. I changed direction. And I found my way back to myself. I have seen people continue down a path they already know isn't right. Sometimes because they are afraid. Sometimes because they have already invested too much time. Sometimes because changing direction feels like failure. But I have learned something different. Changing direction is not failure. Sometimes it is the bravest decision we can make. Today, my life feels pe...

Financial stability is important. Mental stability is important too. But I do not believe that having more money automatically makes people happier. I think happiness depends more on how a person manages life internally. In my case, if I have more, I spend a little more. If I have less, I naturally spend less too. Of course, this only works when there is no serious debt and basic financial stability exists first. Balance has always been more important to me  than simply having more and better. Even when I was young, I spent most of my time working because I genuinely liked working. Of course, work brings stress sometimes, but I still enjoyed being productive. Because I stayed busy, I did not spend money carelessly. Instead, I had more opportunities to save naturally. I think diligent people often worry less about the basics of life. Not because life is easy, but because steady habits quietly protect them over time. Golf taught me something similar. I love golf, but I also know how ...

I Dreamed of Becoming Capable Enough to Protect My Own Life and Kind Enough to Help Others Along the Way. When I was younger, I worked hard. Like many people, I wanted to succeed. I wanted to learn, grow, and become better at what I did. Over the years, I worked in different roles, met different people, and experienced different challenges. Looking back, however, I realize something important. I never dreamed of becoming powerful. I was not chasing status for its own sake. I was not trying to become someone important. What I truly wanted was much simpler. I wanted to become capable enough to protect my own life. I wanted the freedom that comes from competence. The ability to solve problems. The confidence to stand on my own feet. The wisdom to make decisions without constantly depending on others. Perhaps that was why I worked so hard during those years. Not because I wanted power. But because I wanted independence. Today, my life looks much quieter. I spend time with my two dogs. I pl...