Convergence Towards Your Best Year as a PGA Professional, Part II: Courage

In the previous article, I shared the concept of convergence as a pathway to your “best year (yet) as a PGA Professional.” To do so, I suggested that, just like a great football or basketball team, we need to get our three phases (physical, mental and spiritual) together and be well-aligned to go in the right direction.

I defined convergence as: “the act of converging and especially moving toward union or uniformity and consistency.” In short, when our three phases converge and align, we can be more “at peace” with ourselves. We know this is generally true in highly competitive athletes who only perform at their best when these three phases are aligned and “stacked up” appropriately starting with physical, then mental and finally spiritual alignment.

I also introduced the concept of stoicism, an intentional way of living (thinking, acting, speaking) that focuses more on reality and is very “present-focused” (instead of escapism or idealism). It is a philosophy for living out one’s daily work-life more effectively.

How does this work? To start, it comes together with a focus on the four “cardinal virtues” or characteristics of a Stoic. The word cardinal is from the root word, cardos which means to hinge on. They are:

  • Courage
  • Moderation (Temperance)
  • Justice
  • Wisdom

For this article, let’s consider the first one: Courage.

A single word in Latin which means Courage as in Bravery. Explanation: The most common Latin word for “courage”, especially in a philosophical/moral/ethical sense, is “animus”. Seneca, who is one of the “four greatest Stoics” used the term animus in reference to “the rational soul.” For them, it required a soul with substance, wisdom and ethics. Further, to have the “courage” to regulate one’s emotions, no matter the situation or what bad bounces life gives you.

Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and other stoics actually divided the first “hinge of Courage” into sub-categories including:

  • Endurance: courage to finish with a good attitude, to maintain the vision/mission and/or the standards
  • Confidence: to stick with the vision, even though it’s not an “instant success,” or to stick with your plan even though naysayers are nitpicking
  • High-mindedness: Being a high-minded professional requires one to speak the truth, but with gentleness and respect in the delivery. In today’s culture, this is not an easy thing to manage sometimes, but for the golf professional, “truth bathed in respect, delivered with emotional intelligence” needs to be present in policy, in decisions over rules of golf and/or procedures
  • Cheerfulness: being a Stoic doesn’t mean you’re joyless, rather it means finding joy where others miss it (or are too busy surviving to notice.) Marcus Aurelius wrote that he learned, from one of his Stoic mentors, about how to remain “cheerful when ill, or in the face of any other predicament”, from one of his Stoic mentors. Applying Stoicism to his own life, Aurelius worked on his attitude to be unafraid of death, or misfortune and not complain, and instead be about having a “cheerful mind” full of gratefulness. There are three places you and I can find joy:
    • In Ourselves: joy in growth through challenges
    • In Others: joy in seeing those we coach, lead and mentor grow and reach their goals; further, finding joy in encouraging others, especially when they need it.
    • In External Events: joy in recognizing the many good bounces we get (instead of focusing on our “bad luck”); or, looking back at the jobs we didn’t get and now we’re glad we didn’t
  • Industriousness: strength through adversity; staying productive because of your commitment to excellence, versus needing constant encouragement; remaining positive and productive in the face of adversity and pressure; exhibiting one’s character “when no one is watching.”

How can having courage or being courageous apply in the next 6-12 months in your personal and professional life? As a PGA professional, you have at least 600 people that you influence and possibly 3X or 4X more than that. Can you show your “Stoic Courage” by:

  • Valuing our customers, students and members to: consistently model what we expect from them in their behaviors on the course, in the clubhouse
  • Valuing other PGA professionals enough to: speak the truth to them directly and privately, bathed in respect, vs. doing a “drive by” on them
  • Valuing our “neighbors” enough to: serve them with a heart of a servant; pick up for them, fill the gaps for them; be mindful of the needs they have; be an encourager, “catching them in the act” of doing the right things, the right way
  • Valuing myself enough to:
    • Give permission to those I’m closest to give me “corrective feedback” even when it hurtsGive permission to those I work with to give me “constructive criticism” even though I really like my idea(s), not so they can shut my ideas down, but help me improve themGive permission to myself to “step outside of my self-induced limitations”

In application, one could say that our success as leaders, influencers, coaches, supervisors and mentors “hinges” on our commitment to grow in these four characteristics of stoicism (and continually pursuing them.)

If you have any application of these concepts that you would like to share with me, I would love to hear about them. Please feel free to email or call me at my contact information below.

Monte Koch, PGA Certified Professional, CEIP
PGA Career Consultant | PGA of America Career Services
mkoch@pgahq.com
206.335.5260

PGA of America
Business, Operations & Career Coach in the Pacific NW and Rocky Mountain PGA Sections
Lea Hill, WA

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