#7 Playing to WIN
In blog #3, Playing Not to Lose, I showed a diagram about how people “play” in the game of life. I explained that what’s most impactful about the model for me is that very few people ever play to “WIN.” Most of us “play not to lose.” It’s safer there.
And I offered there’s only one distinction between “playing not to lose” and “playing to WIN.” It’s a big distinction however; that’s why so few people attempt it. And it’s a game changer when it happens, regardless of the outcome.
The distinction is that people who are playing to win are willing to risk losing. All bets are off. It’s the willingness of an Olympic athlete to attempt a move no one’s done before in competition – having trained their entire life for that one moment in time to represent their country, putting it ALL on the line – and they either secure a gold medal having accomplished the move successfully, or they likely lose it all – no medal and it’s over. 100% or nothing.
Most of us think we have less on the line than an Olympian; do we? I’m not so sure. I do know most of us play not to lose and wonder why we have the results and experience we do. Playing not to lose isn’t bad, it’s just not the same as playing to win.