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Finding Inspiration: Should Life be About Winning
Is winning a good life goal? Vince Lombardi, the legendary football coach, said, "Winners never quit, and quitters never win." He is also one of several coaches credited with saying, "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing.”
The coach’s point of view sees winning as a victory in a contest or competition. Looking for my answer, I turn inward and consider the question as to whether I have ever won anything, which then suggests some game or random drawing.
Whom did I beat to win? If it was just luck, did it matter? Does winning matter? Good questions, but if winning is about getting a prize, is that a good reason to beat others? If it is about the effort, that helps answer this question.
Yes, in my life, I have many times focused all my effort on reaching a goal. When you win in life, you're living the life of your dreams, achieving your goals, and being content with where you're coming to at the end of the day. The point is that winning is about your dreams, and that still could mean that you want to beat everyone else, and if that is the case, then I have not won anything.
However, looking back, I have to say that my life has been about living and working towards my and my family’s dreams. Winning, for me, has been chiefly an adjective rather than a noun.
If I worked as hard and as smart as I could to achieve a goal and someone else also worked as hard and smart as they could to achieve a goal, and if we both reached the goal, did we both win? What if the other person’s results were better? Did we still both win? The answer would depend on if our goal was to do our best or to win the most. My conclusion is that working your smartest and doing your best is the better goal.
What happens when you have to win to survive? Is winning an accomplishment or a necessity? Can you start just wanting to improve on your best and sometimes being the best in the crowd and wind up in trouble if you are not? If winning is the only thing you value, then trouble will come.