Play Anyway

"Recognizing that the game is rigged but choosing to play anyway can dramatically shift your perspective and chances for success." - Justin Welsh

I came across that quote a couple of days ago. I wasn't looking for it or expecting it, but it was exactly what I needed to hear/read at that moment in time.

I'm a city councilmember who's now running for mayor in a community full of passionate, outspoken, involved people who all care about their city but who are sharply divided - politically and philosophically. Some of them love me and some of them hate me, and some flip-flop back and forth between the two, depending on how I voted on the most recent items to come before the council.

The run for office doesn't take place on a flat, smooth, cushioned track. It goes up and down a lot of hills, takes you through patches of rough terrain, and there are holes to fall into, puddles to jump over, and the occasional rattlesnake nestled in the underbrush, poised to raise its head and strike if it feels threatened.

Whether you're embarking on a political race, beginning a new job, or starting your own business, you can be sure there will be highs and lows, good days and not-so-good ones, times when you're full of energy and enthusiasm and other times when you're exhausted and maybe even a little discouraged.

That's okay. That's normal. That's part of being human.

Of course the playing field isn't always level. Of course it isn't always fair. That's life. There are a lot of good days - more than the bad ones. And when you're on top of the world, there's nowhere to go but down. That means there will be some (relatively) bad ones. Count on it.

"When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor." - Elon Musk

Running as a candidate in an election exposes you to scrutiny. Criticism is to be expected; character assassination is its extreme form, and that's a step that more and more people these days are only too happy to take.

Even if the opposing candidate stays above the fray, s/he will probably have supporters who take the low road. It's very likely that before it's all over, there will be lies told about you, your words will be twisted beyond recognition, and no matter how thick your skin is, a few of those barbs will make it through the armor and they'll hurt.

It's okay to feel that hurt. But you can't let the poison get into your bloodstream, make you doubt yourself or your ability to win, or distract you from your mission. That's exactly what your detractors want.

Remember: you're never going to get everybody on your side. What's important is that the right people are on your side. When the slings and arrows start coming at you fast and furious, you need to surround yourself with the people you are one hundred percent sure you can trust.

“It is important to have people who believe in you. With this support, what you can achieve is limitless.” - Ronnie Coleman

A strong support system - your inner circle of trustworthy advisors - makes all the difference in the world when your world temporarily turns into a hostile environment. In politics in particular, but also in the work world in general and even in the realm of personal relationships, physical and emotional isolation lead to anxiety, depression, and self-sabotaging behaviors. There are numerous studies confirming this.

Having people whom you can count on to support you, on the other hand, has been shown to increase your chances for success, regardless of your endeavor, by providing you with encouragement and motivation and giving you more self-confidence, while at the same time holding you accountable and challenging you to always do and be better.

Counterintuitively, being sure that they will accept and care about you no matter whether you succeed or fail inspires you to work harder to achieve your goals because you don't want to let them down.

"Some people will never support what you do because it's you. Some people will always support what you do because it's you. You just have to find your people." - Unknown

At times, the deck may seem to be stacked against you. That's especially true if you try to play by the rules and others don't. You might feel as if you're being treated unfairly. You may think people you trusted have betrayed you. That might be true, or it might be your overactive, overly stimulated imagination. Either way, there's always a way to turn the obstacles into opportunities.

In politics, if you're a challenger, it can feel as if the incumbent has an unfair advantage. S/he has access to insider information and gets what amounts to free advertising by virtue of his/her position in the public eye. But don't overlook the flip side: you're not having to do the job and run for it at the same time, so you have more time to spend campaigning. You may not have the same legal restrictions on what you say or be subject to the code of ethics that the sitting official has to abide by.

How does a card player overcome the challenge presented by a stacked deck? If you suspect deliberate cheating is going on, you might call out the dealer, request a new deck, or reshuffle the cards yourself. Sometimes you're just on an unlucky streak and it might make sense to switch to a different table or a different game altogether. Just because you're losing at poker doesn't mean you won't draw a 21 at blackjack.

Other times, it's important enough to keep on trying against the odds. Most situations that seem impossible really aren't. They're merely improbable. My husband and I play Yahtzee (a dice game) and the probability of rolling a Yahtzee - all five dice the same - in one roll is 1 in 1,296. Yet I've done it.

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” - Dale Carnegie

A roll of the dice is basically pure luck. In trying to get a job or promotion, or in selling a proposal, you have much more control over the outcome. Those all involve time, hard work, and strategy. They're more like a chess game than a game of Yahtzee.

A political campaign similarly benefits from doing your homework, investing more time, working harder and smarter - but it can also be played as a team sport. That's where your trusted support network, your larger group of key supporters - and yes, your cheering fans - come in.

The inner circle keeps you grounded, energizes you when you're exhausted or discouraged, and makes sure you stay on course with the strategy and narrative. Your key supporters are the volunteers who help you with all the physical activities involved in campaigning. The cheering section consists of those who lend their endorsements, put your signs in their yards, and tell their friends to vote for you.

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." - Albert Schweitzer

And there's the real reason you play - even if the game is rigged, even if the deck is stacked, even if the dice are loaded and you feel like a long shot on the morning line. If you love what you do, you'll find a way to keep on doing it. You'll do your darnedest to win, but you'll also always have a great Plan B and pretty good Plans C and D.

A friend said to me a few days ago, "Are you sure you really want to do this? It hurts my heart to hear the way some people are talking to or about you."

I am humbled and honored that she cares so much. But as I told her, this isn't my first rodeo and believe it or not, I've ridden meaner bulls than these. So the answer is "yes." I really, really want to do it.

But if the voters decide it's not what I'm meant to do, that means there's something else, something better out there that I'm supposed to be doing. As another good friend used to say, you pay your money, and you take your chances.

“One thing’s for sure, if you don’t play, you don’t win.” – Kylie Francis

COPYRIGHT 2025 Debra Shinder