As Superintendents & Course Managers we manage a great deal on a daily basis. Conditioning of all sorts, staff issues, weather, member and customer expectations, budgets and financial drama… by times the list can appear endless. But there is one thing above all that, and based on how we manage it, can have a deep impact on not only our operations, but on our overall well being. 

It’s the very thing that has the biggest influence on just about every decision and prediction we attempt every single day. A poor relationship with it can grind us down over time. It can be hard to pin down, difficult to articulate and trying to grasp it is akin to squeezing a handful of bunker sand. 

It’s uncertainty.

In the grand scheme of things, there are few things one can count on; but that’s not the case with regards to change and uncertainty. If you ever want to be 100% certain about anything, it’s that you can never really know for sure.  As a species we spend a great deal of time and energy trying to predict things and convince folks that we have all the answers. Heck, it’s basically the main tenant that our whole capitalistic system is based on.

We also spend a great deal of internal energy manipulating and attempting to control our own experience and that of others. We often times erroneously assume that if we could just think about it a little bit more, figure out one last possible scenario… then things will work out perfectly. We also incorrectly assume that if we can just judge someone enough that surely they will change.

Take a moment to think about uncertainty through the lens of managing turf. If we look back with clarity and honesty, how many of our careers have worked out exactly how we planned? How many of our cultural practices or products have had the exact intended effect? Or maybe, how many practices that at one time we would have sworn were absolutely necessary, we now either do completely differently or even not at all? 

...how many practices that at one time we would have sworn were absolutely necessary, we now either do completely differently or even not at all?

Now I don’t mean to insinuate that thinking things through isn’t helpful. Taking one’s time and plotting a course can keep us prepared for a great many eventualities. But as with most things, there is a tipping point where the return on investment begins to diminish and our planning and attention to detail begins to work against us. Too much thinking can leave us paralyzed with inaction and procrastination.

As mentioned earlier, there is an internal cost associated with over thinking and hyper planning. We can become constricted and cut off from spontaneity. The space for creativity shrinks and we tend to fall into the safest and most conservative play. The more we worry and try to control the outcome, the more miserable we become. The actual physiological effects of stress and worry can be debilitating. (The actual Latin translation for the word worry is “to strangle.”)

So what is the antidote to our internal attempts to control what may or may not happen? Ironically, it’s both the easiest and paradoxically the most difficult thing of all… we just let go. We can do the work, lay the foundation and plan things out, but in the end still realize that life offers no guarantee of a successful outcome. We can also tune into our internal dialogue and listen to how we approach life’s inevitable ups and downs. Can we see it all for what it is and simply accept the outcome? Without compiling our internal suffering or judgement?

“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own…” — Epictetus

The stoics and the eastern traditions offer similar advice on how to live with this reality of uncertainty. Basically it comes down to how we choose to respond to any given situation. The stress of not knowing and feeling internally unmoored will accompany us through this life whether we want it to or not. The level of ease and contentment in our lives generally comes down to how we choose respond to the outcome.

As of late there has been a great deal of uncertainty in all of our lives. The baseline hasn’t changed much; we all still live and die and gain and lose a great deal in between. But there have also been things like the pandemic and the climate emergency to tend with. Both of these events alone have had and will continue to have a profound effect on how we live our lives. Choosing to look at them through an alternate lens, one that focuses on what we can control can offer some space moving forward.

If we choose to focus on what we can control (which is actually very little) and let go of the rest, then our lives turn towards a deeper measure of ease. If we accept fully that life is a dance of continuous uncertainty and that not knowing the answer at any given time is the nature of life itself, then we find more peace.

If we accept fully that life is a dance of continuous uncertainty and that not knowing the answer at any given time is the nature of life itself, then we find more peace.

Another important point to be mindful of is that shifting to a mindset of letting go doesn't mean we become apathetic or indifferent. Going down that road can be as dangerous as over thinking. Rather we are simply practicing the art of letting things be, just as they are. We still stay connected, we still do the work and most importantly we still take responsibility for our actions; but we do it all with a measure of openness and non attachment. 

So we keep on keepin' on. We continue laying out our daily plans and intentions, and then letting go of the outcome. When it arrives, learn from it, be curious about it, and let it be. We wash, rinse and repeat. Along the way reminding ourselves that we don’t need to have all the answers, just the willingness and openness to let them find us. And remember that in the end, a little bit of doubt and uncertainty is just fine.

Thanks so much for reading.