Stop Chasing the Snake

Anyone is susceptible to allowing their emotions to negatively affect the outcome of a situation.

The other day, I had a moment like this, and later that day, I was reflecting on how I could have responded better with my 13-year-old son, John Ellis: “You don’t control the event. But the better you can regulate your emotions, the better your response and the better your outcome.”

That’s the essence of equation E + R = O. Event Plus Response Equals Outcome.

There’s a story that captures this perfectly that I learned from Sahil Bloom.

A man is walking through the woods when a snake slithers out and bites him. The pain is sharp, the venom real. But he’s close to the village, and if he just walks back, he’ll survive.

Instead, anger takes over. “Why did the snake do that to me? I’ll make it pay.” He chases the snake down the path, burning with resentment. But as he hunts for revenge, the venom spreads. Before he can catch the snake, he collapses and dies.

That’s the Snake Chasing Effect. The bite isn’t what kills you, the chase does.

And it’s the same for us. The real damage doesn’t come from the event, but from our reaction to it, rather than our response.

Think about that for a moment, there is a difference between reacting to something and responding. Reacting is emotional, responding is thoughtful.

So here’s the challenge: when life bites you, stop chasing the snake. Don’t allow your emotions to react. Instead, build the discipline to respond.

Because the event may be outside your control, but the outcome is not.

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