As we continue with the concept of convergence as a pathway to your “best year (yet) as a PGA Professional,” we continue to build on the foundation of Convergence: Overview (Article 1) and Convergence: Courage (Article 2). In bringing together our three phases (physical, mental and spiritual) in alignment, we are seeking the path to have them “converge” and build our impact, our effectiveness and our legacy as PGA Professionals who use golf as a platform generating goodness and goodwill.
As a reminder, we have previously 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. When these three phases are stacked up well, they create a “more powerful, more highly performing whole, than what the three separate parts ever could.” (Sounds like “the zone” to me and sounds like fun to me, too.)
Hinge #2: The 2nd of the four “cardinal virtues” or characteristics of a Stoic. The word cardinal is actually from the root word, cardos which means to hinge on. In other words, these four characteristics are what being a Stoic hinges on. They are:
- Courage
- Moderation (Temperance)
- Justice
- Wisdom
In our last article, we considered: Courage. In this version, we will consider Moderation (or Temperance).
I’ve always found myself resonating with moderation and temperance. I don’t really enjoy temperatures above 85 or below 48. It’s the same with humidity too. (Maybe you’re like me, as this “temperate climate” is one of the greatest things about living in the PNW.) It doesn’t have to be “just right” either, but these are preferable over “too extreme.”
Have you noticed lately that things beyond weather have been strongly trending towards “more and more extreme”? Certainly, overindulgence, overconsumption and similar of “basically good things” (in moderation) has been an issue for humankind for centuries. One example certainly comes to mind. Wine is a good thing, a great thing and in moderation it is a healthy beverage, in fact, “doctor recommended” and it is the “ante” that helps bring people together for day-to-day consumption and for life’s biggest “memorable moments.” Consumed to an extreme however, wine can be a real problem that leads to poor decision making and much worse.
Qualities of one’s character and/or virtues can be much like wine. It’s not about the wine, the character or the virtue, it’s about the intensity (or the degree to which it manifests itself in one’s life, relationships, etc.). Alex J. Hughes, in conjunction with The Daily Stoic, wrote, “…it’s far more reliable to frame qualities in context of a spectrum using Aristotle’s ‘golden mean,’ which explains that the range of virtue is found firmly in the middle, between excess and deficiency.”
In this sense, moderation and temperance are synonymous. Both relate to applying self-awareness in an intentional manner that results in self-restraint, self-discipline and self-control. Temperance combined with maturity enhances our ability to choose long term well-being over short term satisfaction. Instead of overeating, selfishness, instant gratification, addictive behavior, laziness, and procrastination, we can choose the opposite and enjoy the right amount of good things, good fun and more in the right context.
In application, one could say that our success as leaders, influencers, coaches, supervisors and mentors “hinges” on our commitment to model temperance and grow in it (with a constant pursuit of it).
Alex J. Hughes wrote further that “Moderation (the range of virtue): Between deficiency and excess”. In doing so, he seems to suggest these character traits (that could be either virtues or issues for any of us) are the “golden mean” that Aristotle was referring to: (Note: in the list below, the bolded word is the “golden mean” while the other two are the ends of the spectrum)
- Ambition: Between Lazy and Insatiable ‒ the golf communities we serve and influence admire “humble ambition” and a drive to get better in what we do, play and similar…but “winning at all costs” in what we do is also ugly, as it burns through relationships, etc.
- Empathy: Between Cold and Codependent ‒ those we lead need us to have “the ability to feel” what they’re experiencing (including employees, teammates and customers), so we can create programs, experiences and service teams that create a way for them to “connect and create connections” through our work; but they also need us to have the ability to have logic, make good business decisions, etc.
- Endurance: Between Fragile and Depleted ‒ in golf, we have a good number of difficult conversations, or challenging situations where someone may be unhappy and it isn’t even our fault (or sometimes it can be). We need to be tough enough to make it through the long days, tough enough not to take constructive criticism personally, but not so tough that we no longer have any feeling or empathy, or that we no longer manage our work-life balance and we end up “burning out”.
- Self-confidence: Between Insecure and Arrogant ‒ In the examples above, especially in those tough conversations, tough calls with rules or policies, a golf professional needs enough confidence to speak directly, but not condescending or belittling.
- Adaptability: Between Rigid and Soft ‒ We know that adaptability and flexibility are required in our business. Golfers register late, no show and similar, and then there’s the weather, supply-side and delivery issues hamper our business and sales and our employees, employers and similar don’t always keep their word when it comes to follow-through.
- Self-sufficiency: Between Dependent and Isolated ‒ But, we can’t do it all ourselves. We need committee members, cart staff, golf shop staff, food and beverage staff, entry level assistants, etc. to deliver on the most basic golf experience. We can’t be an island and be successful, but we also can’t rely only on these people without backup plans, scripts and adaptability.
- Discipline: Between Impetuous and Inhibited ‒ We need to make disciplined choices based on good information and maturity especially when there are multiple “sides” of the politics at the course/club at play. Tough conversations can’t be repressed and ran from, but they need to “bathed in discipline and emotional intelligence” too.
- Composure: Between Frenzied and Stagnant ‒ Becoming a PGA member takes effort, follow-through and good time management. Procrastination or mismanagement of the tasks required to get to the “goal line” result in frenzied and frenetic efforts to complete the task. In the effort, people around us can get burned, get hurt and key items could be missed. In the end, our employer may move from respecting our adaptability to being unimpressed with our panicked efforts.
As with the previous topic on courage, I would love to hear any thoughts you have on how these concepts apply to your work and career. 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