One of the most powerful competitive advantages in business—and in life—is resilience. The ability to stay steady after disappointment, reset quickly, and return with clarity often separates consistent performers from breakthrough leaders.
That’s why one of my favorite examples of resilience comes from the world of professional golf: Tommy Fleetwood.
After 164 starts on the PGA Tour, countless near misses, and more heartbreak than most professionals endure in a lifetime, Fleetwood finally broke through. He captured his first PGA Tour victory at the Tour Championship, earning not only a trophy, but the FedEx Cup and a life-changing $10 million payday.
What makes this story remarkable isn’t the win—it’s what came before it.
Fleetwood had accumulated 30 top-five finishes without a victory, more than any player in PGA Tour history. Year after year, he was close. Painfully close. For many professionals, that pattern becomes a mental weight—one that quietly erodes confidence and leads to doubt, hesitation, or burnout.
Fleetwood chose a different response.
Instead of letting disappointment define him, he treated each setback as information—not identity. As he put it:
“It’s easy for anybody to say they are resilient… it’s different when you actually have to prove it.”
Tommy Fleetwood isn’t fundamentally different from you, your team, or your organization. The highs and lows of professional golf mirror the realities of business: missed opportunities, deals that fall apart, quarters that don’t go as planned, and moments when effort doesn’t immediately equal reward.
What allowed Fleetwood to endure—and ultimately win—was his ability to reset after each disappointment. He didn’t dwell. He didn’t catastrophize. He learned, let go, and re-engaged.
Here’s how that lesson applies directly to performance—on or off the course.
How to Thrive tip #1: The power of the Reset
A bad round—or a bad quarter— or bad day….doesn’t need to follow you home.
Start with an honest, structured review:
Identify one or two things that worked
Identify one or two things that didn’t
Keep it factual, not emotional
Then comes the most important step—the one most people skip:
Then say, “I’ve learned. Now I move on.”
Learning gives you closure.
When lessons are extracted, there is no value in replaying mistakes on a mental loop.
High performers don’t carry scorecards in their heads—they carry insight, then refocus forward.
Because the next opportunity deserves your full attention.
Greatness refuses to operate in the past.
About the author:
Dr. Gregg Steinberg is a keynote speaker who speaks on peak performance, resilience and purpose-driven leadership. He is ranked by as one of the world’s greatest sport psychologist. See more about the author at www.DrGreggSteinberg.com and if you want Dr. Gregg to speak at your next event, contact him at mentalrules24@msn.com
