Nashville, Tennessee

Months ago Krysta and I decided that every four months we would go on a vacation. Whether it be for a few days or for a week it did not matter. We would go enjoy a nice, relaxing vacation to refresh our minds. 

So this past week we traveled about five and a half hours south of us to Nashville, Tennessee. We chose it because we both have never been there and thought it would be a neat place to visit. 

While there we went to the Grand Ole Opry and saw a concert. The next night we went to a free…yes free, Blake Shelton concert. And we also visited the famous strip of Broadway and all the bars that come with it. 

All in all it was a great trip. The weather was nice, warm, and sunny. The people were nice. The southern food was good. The whole city of Nashville just has that southern charm to it; that “homey” feel I would say. So if you ever get a chance to visit Nashville enjoy the beauty of it, and give the Tennesseean folks a “hey y’all” for me!

Friend

What is a friend? By definition it is: a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. 

We all say we have lots of friends. We think our friends will always be there for us through thick and thin. Think back to all those friends you had in high school…are all those friends still there for you? Think of those “drinking buddies” that say they will be there, but they will not…unless there is a drink involved. 

How many times have your heard the excuse of people “being busy” or people “having families” or people saying they “don’t have enough time?” No matter what the excuse, we all make time for what we truly want.  We all have 24-hour days, 7 day weeks in our lives. How you manage that time is up to you. Just like love, friends come and go. 

Think of how many different so-called “best friends” you have had through the years. Is it not a little humorous how that changes, and how you go from best friend to best friend to another best friend? 

You are probably wondering why I am writing this blog. Today I thought about the so called “friends” that I have. I could cut off fingers, toes…because I do not know if I have any. I have acquaintances, which by definition is: a person known to one, but usually not a close one. 

In my opinion a friend is someone you talk to everyday. And the reason I say everyday is because once that person is gone, you would have wished you would have spoke to that person more often. Just as when a family member dies, you wish you could have done this or that, or said this or said that to that person…same is true with a friend. 

To conclude, friends do come and go. I believe God puts people in our life for a reason, whether for short or long term there is always a purpose for that person to be involved in our life. So I end this blog with one simple question: who are your friends?

Ants Thoughts: I Can’t Get No…Satisfaction

What is the meaning of life? Is it happiness? Is it having fame? Is it having wealth? Life as we all know it does not always go as planned. There are many twists and turns, ups and downs, tears of joy and tears of sadness. 

I really thought of the meaning of my life today after my round of golf. One of my passions is golf because I love to play. I “think” it is a dream of mine to play golf for a living and make money from it. I believe I can, but just like many of us have doubts throughout life I have mine as well. One day I play pretty well for my standards, the next it could be 5-10 strokes worse. Golf is a game of inches, a game of misses, a game that’s played between the ears. 

I have always set my standards high in golf because I believe I can accomplish them. I am very hard on myself, which can be both good and bad. One thing that really bothers me with not just golf, but life as well is that there is a common theme between them for me. That common theme is satisfaction. 

I am never satisfied mentally. Nothing that I do ever seems good enough for myself. Let’s take a look at golf. I play pretty well, not as well as I like but better than most. I shot one-under par 71 for the first time in my life about a month ago and though I was excited, part of me was still not satisfied with the results. Today I played and shot 86 and was not satisfied at all even though my ballstriking was spot on. There are times when I let golf dictate the meaning of my life. What I mean is that if I play bad then I have a bad life. For me mentally if I never become what I want in golf then I am a complete utter failure. And not only a failure to myself, but a failure to my girlfriend as well. Why I feel this way makes no sense to me, I guess I am just wired that way. 

In life it is the same way. It is hard for me to be satisfied with my life sometimes. I feel I am not where I should be, whether that is my own fault or just the cards I was dealt in life, it is difficult to be pleased. 

As bad as it sounds if I do not accomplish what I feel I should in golf and life I do not want to be on earth. I think my problem is that I do not want mediocrity, I do not want average, I do not want the societal norm of just paying bills and dying. I read so many motivational quotes and motivational readings that talk about working hard, not quitting, and having faith are ways to have success. The thing that bugs me is you can work hard, not quit, and have faith in life and in your passion and still be like me: unsatisfied. 

I think my question to God or whatever higher power is out there is how does Anthony Thrush learn to become satisfied? What steps do I need to take to get to satisfaction? I assume in due time I will learn that, but time is all we have in life…and you never know when your time runs out. 

Tiger Woods: Professional Golfer to Human Being.

I remember back on Masters Sunday in 1997 I was at Chuck-E-Cheese waiting to get back to watch this new golf phenom, Tiger Woods. I remember watching his final few holes and him winning his first green jacket. I remember that well because that is what got me wanting to play golf. I just wanted to be like Tiger. For me it went from loving Michael Jordan, to wanting to be like Tiger Woods. 

We all know Woods’ story. His military father got him started early in the game of golf. He went from being an incredible Amateur player to an even better Professional PGA player. There are comparisons between him and Jack Nicklaus and who the better player is/was. 

But now Woods has gone from Professional golfer to a human being. We all put him on a pedestal. Most of us thought he would easily pass Jack’s 18 majors, but now that thought has been put on hold because of Woods’ recent struggles. 

Everybody has an opinion of what Woods should do and what instructor he should go to. The media made him look invincible, and now the media bares all their weight on his shoulders and makes him look like a human being lost in translation. 

We have all, as human beings, gone through stages of our life and wondered what we were supposed to do. We wondered if we would ever get out of the rut we were in; we wondered how to get up from rock bottom. No matter what life throws at us nothing is as bad as it actually seems. We just make it worse for our selves, because think about this: when you are in a rut, when you are at rock bottom…your thoughts are usually, and always, negative. When we have negative thoughts it seems like everything is going against us. Most people find excuses and use them at whatever cost. 

But I will say this as Tiger Woods as a human being: he has not faltered. He has grinded and grinded, and that is what most people do not do. Most people crawl in a shell to be forgotten, to hide. People hate criticism, but Tiger has been punched in the jaw, punched in the gut, but has kept fighting for his success. All he can do is keep working hard and whatever happens, happens. The way Tiger has been just keeping at his hard work and determination has made me like him even more. So go Tiger, and please shut the doubters and haters up. 

Ants Thoughts: People, and Success

People just really get on my nerves. Now they always have, but as I have aged and became older most people are annoying. 

I work in the customer service industry in golf and people are rude, obnoxious, stupid, and just annoying. Not only the customers, but the people you work for as well. 

Mark it in stone that by a certain age my goal is to work for myself and not make other people rich off my skills and talents. I understand we all have to pay our dues to get where we want in life, but why are some people more fortunate than others? You really could work hard all your life and never aspire to where you thought you should have got to. Is it that some people have more luck? More connections? More money to get them to where they want? I say yes to those questions. I also believe that some people are just destined for success and accomplishment, some are destined for mediocrity, and others for failures after failures. 

I think it comes down to your definition of success. Some think having money is success, some think being materialistic is success, while others think having a roof over your head with family is success. 

Whatever the case may be for success you have to learn, including myself, to appreciate the small successes and small accomplishments. I know for me too many times I want the big goal too much and I look past the small baby steps I have achieved. It is so easy to want the big picture goal, instead of enjoying the present. 

Want…is a bad thing in my opinion, because there are a lot of things in life we all want, but will never get the opportunity to have or achieve. Yes, people will say, “go make the opportunity then,” and I say to that that not all things in life are equal or fair to make certain opportunities happen. 

Ants Thoughts: Vacation and Golf

Back to the grind today of practicing golf and work. It felt good to go out and hit balls after a week off of not doing so. Vacation does give you that refreshed mind that is much needed. I think Krysta and I need to go on vacation every four months. Three a year would be good for the mind, body, and soul to stay energized and positive. 

Looking back on vacation Krysta and I realized that St. Augustine is not the place for us to move once our lease is up next year, but we have agreed that warm/hot weather is for us. So we will be taking a vacation to Miami in September or October for a few days. The more places we visit the better chance we find an area that is suitable for our needs. 

On a second note I am looking forward to playing tournament golf this Saturday. I have never played Kinsale Golf Club before so it should be a good test. I really believe the Bubba Watson approach is the way I need to operate. I do not want golf to become work. I want it to be fun and enjoyable. Lately it has felt like work because of instruction. I am smart enough now that I understand my swing, and have become more confident because of self discovering what works for me…and only me! Looking back on it, instruction has mentally hurt my golf game. The phrase “paralysis by analysis” is directed toward me…not really, but I have analyzed my swing to the point that I have made my mind over think. In a game that is supposed to be about not thinking so much, I have destroyed my mind from trying to imitate (that would be from instruction) instead of just being me. 

It is crazy as something as small as trusting yourself is. We all have doubts and fears, but as my favorite quote says: “Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” Thanks MJ for such an inspirational quote!

A Job…

What is a “job?” There are many definitions of what a “job” is. Those definitions range from: a task done by a routine of one’s occupation for an agreed price, a post of employment (full or part-time), and then my favorite…anything a person is expected or obliged to do! When did we, as people, become a person expected to do something we really do not want? Or should I say…when the fuck did we become somebody’s bitch?

If you have a job, which 99% of the people in the world do I need you to answer one question: why did you settle for it? Was it because it is safe? Was it because it is secure? I know a few people that became laid off from that “safe” and “secure” job.

So why do we continue to downgrade our own capabilities and our own dreams? We all have a passion, yet fear creeps in. Or should I say that little 6-inches between our ears (our mind) fucks with us and it tells us we can’t do this and can’t do that, and for some reason we believe it. We may all try something at some point in our lives, but as soon as it gets hard we quit, we stop, we become robots to society. 

We all say we want better jobs. Jobs that are higher paying, jobs that are not monotonous, jobs that show what skills we really have. Yet we settle to be someone’s bitch. We settle to make someone else richer, when we know deep down we can do better. 

One of my favorite songs is by George Thorogood and it’s titled Get A Haircut & Get A Real Job. In that song he talks of how he’s a rebel and he breaks rules, and how he has big ambitions to play in a band and how he has long hair, but everyone is telling him to be like his big brother Bob and get a real job (that would be society telling you to stick to the norm). And one thing that’s great about that song is that he never quits, he sticks to his dream. Then, toward the end he has one of the best verses in a song: “I’m 10 times richer than my big brother Bob, but he’s got a haircut and a real job?” That verse was basically a fuck you to society that he could do what ever was placed in him ( playing in a band), yet people told him not possible. 

So are you stuck in a job? No you are not. You choose to be there because it’s safe and comfortable. Sometimes in life you have to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable, and when you get to that point you can do anything you want in life. 

What a Mess

What is it about people that are not clean? Is it just pure laziness or are they just wired in the brain to be dirty? This all stems from a visit to my local Wal-Mart. I was behind a couple at the checkout line and you could tell they had not showered in a few days. Their hair was greasy and they just had that “dirty” look to them. 

I never understood people that are dirty. Why would you not want to take care of not only yourself, but also your surroundings? One thing that I also do not understand is why is a lot of the poor people that dirtiest? Just because you do not have money does not mean you have to be dirty! Remember back in Preschool or Elementary school when you had to put things back where you got them from? It’s called keeping your area clean, but somehow a lot of folks have forgotten how to do that. 

You can tell a lot by how a person presents themselves if they are a clean person or not. Maybe I am being a little judgmental…no fuck that, the truth is that keeping yourself and your surroundings clean are not that difficult. Why anyone wants to be dirty is beyond me. Thank you to my grandma, my mom, and my aunt for being clean freaks because I am glad I learned from you ladies on how to be clean. 

Negativity Slowly Kills

Are you one of those people that complain about life? Are you one of those people that complain about your job? Are you one of those people that seems to say “why me” in unfortunate circumstances? Are you one of those people that think only bad things happen to you? Are you one of those people that think more good should happen to you?

If you answered “yes” to those why do you not change your mindset? Why do you continue to live a life you hate? Are you afraid of change? Are you afraid to be more positive? Are you afraid of the fear of failure? Why do you think more good should happen to you? Should good things just be handed to you?

We have all been knocked down, we have all had rough patches in our life, but just because we have “bad things” or “bad breaks” happen to us those do not have to keep us down. When you get knocked down and you can look up…then you can get up. Maybe instead of thinking a setback is a negative thing that happens turn it into motivation on the inside to fuel those ideas and passions within you. “Setbacks” and “bad breaks” are never permanent, but a lot of the time we make them into that. 

To finish, what can you do to stop being negative? What does or will need to happen for you to change your mindset? Would quitting that job you hate start your transformation? Hopefully it does not take for you to be on your deathbed to finally realize you were settling for mediocrity and comfortableness, when you should have been living and facing your fears. 

Symbolism

When something is characterized by or related to a symbol it is defined as symbolic. I remember my one High School English teacher where I first learned of the meaning of symbolism. She said how certain colors in movies are symbolic. For instance, the colors red or black can mean death or be the antagonist, while the color white can mean good or be the protagonist. 

Well, the other night something stirred up in my head as being symbolic in life: a traffic light. A traffic light is either red for stop, yellow for caution, and green for go, and sometimes has a continuous green turn arrow. All these colors got my mind going and spiraling into thoughts. 

Let us begin with green. When a light is green the law says we have the right to go. I compare the green go light to going through life. Sometimes we just have to go. We have to go to work, go to school, go work hard at whatever we do. 

Next comes the red light. When a light is red the law states we have to stop. The red stop light compares to stopping and analyzing life. Sometimes we have to stop and take a break, we have to stop and enjoy the little moments, we have to stop and just ponder life’s beauty. 

Next comes the yellow light. When a light is yellow the law states we have to proceed with caution. As I assume most people have in life we have seen that light turn yellow and stepped on that gas pedal to get through the light. In our mind we had to make a choice whether or not to go through the light or slowly begin braking. That yellow light is similar to opportunities in life. Opportunities present themselves to us and we have a choice to either go and accept a challenge, or a choice to stop and move on from that challenge. 

The last light is a continuous green turn arrow. When a light is a continuous green turn arrow the law states to just go ahead and turn. This light compares to life in the way of never stopping. You continue and never look back, you do not look both ways for distractions in life…you just put your head down and fight fight fight. 

It is funny how little things in life make your mind think of something. Not sure what made my mind compare a traffic light to life, but whatever the case it is a different way to look at things.