The seeds of Tiger Woods’ undoing were sewn years ago – and they had nothing to do with him being the king of golf. 

Tiger’s father, Earl, apparently told his son, over and over, that he would be a catalyst of change in the world, that he was “special,” that golf was his vehicle to greatness. Bad parenting. All Earl did was inflate Tiger’s ego – and self-image – beyond reasonable human bounds. Earl was manufacturing a God – a perfect being, whom all others would adore, not just admire.

Tiger took it all in and became the icon he was “meant” to be – almost. Somewhere inside Tiger-the-God lay Tiger-the-human, just waiting to reclaim his rightful place in the mortal world. And that he certainly has done.  

I feel sorry for Tiger. He’s lived a lie most of his life – “I am holier than thou” – and now that lie has been exposed. Now, he has to face his mortal self, and that may take some time.  

Tiger’s self-reverence went to his head, starting, most likely, at a very young age. And it consumed him from the inside out.  As much as he may be the poster child for the dangers of self-made celebrity perfection, he’s not alone. There are others – other sports figures, politicians (God knows!), CEOs, and just plain folk, who lose touch with who they truly are, set impossible standards for themselves, create God-like personas, and set themselves up for inevitable failure, shame and embarrassment. It’s not worth it.  

If Tiger can achieve a more realistic understanding of himself – his earthly, rather than his “saintly,” gifts – he stands a chance of re-engaging people in positive ways. With his fame, he might indeed get people to listen to his more humble, but important message: Be yourself, know your limits as well as your strengths, keep both feet on the ground at all times. If that happens, redemption will be his – and Tiger might actually become the catalyst of positive change in the world his father wanted him to be.

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I believe that …

There is a God and He imbued us with unique characteristics which add up to an immutable identity that reveals our potential for creating something of lasting value in the world.

In the process of Creation, God played a trick on us. Unlike the 5 physical senses with which we navigate the physical world, God gave us no conscious pathway for finding out who we are at the core of our beings. Rather, He made us so that we must find our own way there, because anything so powerful and beautiful must not be easy to obtain.

Our identities are the expression of our souls on earth and that when we live in accordance with who we are, we honor God and his divine presence that lives in each of us.

We were designed to live from the inside out, but we live from the outside in, stumbling most of the way.

We are unevolved as a species, and that the real challenge of the 21st century won’t be technological advancement, but to paraphrase John Naisbitt, understanding what it means to be human and building communities that honor this reality every day.

OK. Your turn. What’s your personal anthropology? It matters.

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