With the Lance Armstrong confession fresh in our ears and the Super Bowl coming up in 2 weeks time, it might be a good time to reflect on sports.
Sporting events are a great microcosm of the games we play with ourselves everyday. So we can take some cool lessons away from them. One of those lessons is playing to win. Now you may be thinking … that seems kind of silly. Doesn’t everybody play to win?
The answer is a resounding “No”!
You see it with teams that aren’t “supposed” to win. They’re the underdogs. But they get the lead. They may be as surprised as everybody else.
And that’s when it happens …
They stop playing to win. They start playing to “not lose”.
Is there a difference?
The answer to that question is a big “Yes”!
Just like great teams, we need to play to win if we’re going to achieve Greatness. Here are some key traits to adopt:
People who play to win have winning as their goal.
This may sound crazy to you also. But is it? Many people start out with a goal of winning. But as they inch closer and closer to the success they desired, their goal changes. They’re doing better than they ever imagined. So they get nervous. Their goal shifts to “not losing”.
It’s not a conscious thing. But you can see it in their actions, in their faces, and in their demeanor. And it’s ironic – the more they try not to lose, the more likely they are to lose.
People who play to win put themselves on the edge.
You’ll never succeed big if you don’t take some risks. But what if you’re winning the game? Some people stop taking the risks that brought them so far. They become too risk-averse, thinking that playing it conservative will help them preserve their lead.
Now, it’s true that taking a risk doesn’t always pay off. By definition. But never taking a risk will never pay off. You have to put yourself out there. You have to be willing to make mistakes. Learn from them. Recover from them. And keep playing to win!
One of my favourite sayings is “the biggest risk you will ever take is not taking a risk at all.”
People who play to win are confident they will win.
Some people think they can win. Winners know they will win! Even when things aren’t going their way, they’re not troubled. They keep playing the game they came to play.
Sure, they’ll make some adjustments. They may change up their offense – or their defense – or both. But they keep on pushing. There is no doubt they’re going to win. It’s just a matter of time!
Novak Djokovic the world No1 tennis player typified this just 2 days ago when he was down against a lower ranked competitor. He knew that he was in for a long night, and just put his head down and gradually inched his way back into the match. It took him 5 sets and almost 5 hours to get the victory, but I am sure that he never had any doubts that he would win.
People who play to win get in “the zone”.
People who win don’t think; they do. They do what they’ve prepared to do. Because they’re thoroughly prepared, their body, mind, and spirit all reach a state of flow.
They go through the motions, but they aren’t just going through the motions. These motions flow up from deep within them because they’ve mastered their game. They have prepared themselves. Honed their skills so that they don’t have to worry about that aspect of their game.
Meanwhile, the people who are playing to “not lose” are busy thinking. Their self-talk isn’t the same as the people playing to win. They’re worrying about mistakes. They’re punishing themselves every time something doesn’t go their way. They’re over-thinking and over-reacting.
So how does the game usually end?
People who play to win … win. When they win often enough that is when they are called Greats. Just like Roger Federer.
