Play It As It Lies

Golf's golden rule is a great one for life and leadership

One of the benefits of having a diverse group of mentors is that I get a lot of different perspectives. One of my mentors is an empath and he always encourages me to view things from someone else's point of view. Another is personal growth coach, and she challenges me to look at my role in any given situation.

Today I met with my ex-professional athlete mentor, and he can boil most issues down to a lesson he learned playing sports, and today he schooled me on one of his favorites - Play It As It Lies.

I was talking with him about an issue that I've been dealing with which has left me frustrated. I felt like progress wasn't happening fast enough, and I have been struggling with how to get my message across to my team.

"The thing about golf is you have to play your next shot from wherever your ball ends up," he said. "It's the same with life."

"You want everything to be perfect and everyone to share your vision. It doesn't seem like that's where you are. You want to be in the middle of the fairway, but you're behind a tree. You have to play it as it lies."

As I've thought about his comments, I have come to understand the power of that simple advice. I have also seen how it can apply to so many other situations that we face in life and leadership:

• Understanding Your Role - If you're on the golf course and you find yourself behind a tree or in a deep bunker, it's usually not hard to figure out how you got there - you hit a bad shot. In life, though, it's not that easy. We tend to look for other people to blame or find reasons that conditions aren't as we wished. Playing it as it lies means understanding your role in your current circumstances. Only by doing this can you identify what you can do to not only change the situation, but also what you can do to avoid ending up in a similar situation in the future.
• Embracing Acceptance - Sometimes a great shot ends up in a divot. That's just how it works. To play it as it lies means accepting the current condition of the ball and taking the shot from there. Similarly, in life, acceptance involves acknowledging and embracing the reality of our circumstances without resistance or judgment. It does not imply passivity or resignation but rather a willingness to work with what we have and make the best of it. By applying the principle of acceptance to our lives, we unlock a transformative mindset that enables personal growth and resilience.
• Seeing People As They Are - I used to struggle to deal with certain people in my life because they weren't who I wanted them to be. They didn't act like I wanted them to act, and they didn't do the things I wanted them to do. I eventually realized that the source of my frustration was not actually the other person, but rather it came from my expectations of them. When I play it as it lies, I accept the other person for who they are and I can better deal with them. This is a critical skill for anyone in a position of leadership.
• Adaptability and Flexibility - Golf courses are diverse, with various terrains, weather conditions, and hazards. Similarly, life is unpredictable and constantly changing. The ability to adapt and adjust our strategies is crucial for success. By accepting the present circumstances, we can assess the situation objectively, make necessary adjustments, and take calculated risks. On the golf course, we can't always go for the green. Sometimes we have to lay up or chip out of the woods. We all want to move toward the goals we set, but sometimes the smartest course of action is to pause, take a step back, and get some perspective.

I'm not a huge fan of sports analogies, but I have to give my mentor some credit for this one.

Golf's golden rule, "play it as it lies," offers invaluable insights into approaching the challenges we face every day. By adopting this philosophy, we learn to appreciate our role in creating our life's circumstance. We also learn to embrace acceptance, see people as they are, and adapt to life's everchanging circumstances.

This simple lesson learned on the golf course can be applied to various aspects of life and leadership, enabling us to face obstacles head-on and thrive in the face of adversity. So, take inspiration from this timeless rule and play life as it lies, with unwavering determination and a positive mindset.