Of few years back, I had the pleasure of traveling to Tampa, Florida for a conference.  Prior to the start of the show, a couple of esteemed business colleagues and I took the opportunity to play some golf.  We decided to go big or go home.  The Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club (home of the Valspar Championship on the PGA Tour) had availability for a few weekend duffers.  Why not?

The course did not disappoint.  There was a lot of water and sand (most of which I found), but there were beautiful vistas and well manicured greens to allow even the modest golfer an enjoyable experience.  The three of us expected to struggle on the this PGA-caliber course, but as we marched through the back nine, we were actually playing well (relatively speaking, of course).  Why did we ever doubt ourselves?

But as we finished up the 15th hole and turned toward 16,  a giant statue of a menacing snake loomed ominously over the tee box.  And the inscription on the pedestal gave us pause:

“Welcome to THE SNAKE PIT…the most difficult finishing holes on the PGA Tour!” 

Gulp!  There are a lot of difficult finishing holes on the PGA tour, but these were the hardest for the pros?  Amateurs like us didn’t stand a chance.  True to form, all three of us stood on the tee box on 16 and eventually found the water enroute to three triple-bogeys.  The short, par-3 17th hole carded two double-bogeys and a single-bogey.  And the 18th hole was even worse.

As we finally tapped in and walked off the green, we looked back on the previous three holes.  Our scores blew up.  It was as if we had never played the game.  But were these finishing holes really that difficult?  There was nothing particularly diabolical about the layout or the pin placements.  And, in checking the scorecard, the last three holes weren’t even the highest handicapped holes!

It was all in our heads.  We were intimidated by a statue!  We believed in the sign.  We had expected to fail at some point, and The Snake Pit gave us the perfect excuse to fulfill our perceived destiny.

And doesn’t that happen far too often in our work and professional lives?

We Can’t Be Intimidated

In our work lives, we can get intimidated by fancy résumés and lofty titles.  How can our company compete against the Harvard-trained entrepreneur?  Who are we to question the Executive VP of Strategy?   How can we possibly win a sale against the Fortune 500 Company?    All should earn a modicum of respect.  But none should throw us off our own game.

We can’t let the accolades of others dictate our own success.  We can’t let our own fears stifle our will to compete.  We need to focus on our own strengths.  How can we impact the client?  How can we add value to the company?  What are our unique contributions?  Winning is a mindset.  There are no preconceived outcomes.  Competition takes place in the present, not the past.

And the same is true in our personal lives.  We can’t concede before we have played the game.  We have to believe that we are capable of winning.  There is nothing stopping us from asking out that guy or girl.  There is no reason to believe that we can’t earn financial independence.  We absolutely have the ability to upset the higher-ranked team.  There is no barrier to getting into better shape.  The magazine articles and advertisements don’t always represent reality.  Other people don’t always have it better than us.  We need to concentrate on our game.   We can’t let the Snake Pit intimidate us!

It’s Not Always Going to Go Our Way

But what happens when the statue is correct? What happens when we believe, but still end up triple-bogeying?  There are legitimate competitors and barriers to success.  We are not going to go through life undefeated.  A mindset is not always a match for superior strength and strategy.

But resilience is not about winning every battle.  Resilience is about competing every time, regardless of the circumstances.  And resilience is about how we react to the outcomes.  It’s not always going to go our way.  And that is going to sting.   But we have to be prepared to saddle up again.  And we have to believe that we can win in the future.

What Snake Pit?

There are snake pits all around us.  Some are in our heads.  Some are imposed on us by society.  Some are legitimate threats to our livelihood and well-being.  But none should intimidate us.  None should stop us from putting forth maximum effort.  And none should dictate the outcome before we play the game.

Welcome to The Snake Pit.  Relax.  Swing away.  And enjoy the round.