How many times have our parents said “Winning isn’t everything.” If winning isn’t everything, why do we fight so hard to achieve it, and feel so empty and miserable when we don’t? It’s the feeling of knowing you were the best on that day; and when you lose, it’s the painful awareness that you just didn’t get it done.
Being a winner starts with a determination to strive for victory—fairly, squarely, decently, by the rules—but always to win. Winning, of course, is as much about how you play the game as it is about who’s ahead when the final whistle blows. Being a winner is a state of mind, both on and off the field.
Don’t be afraid to celebrate your victories in a sportsmanlike manner. Goals are so difficult to come by (in soccer and in life) that when you get one, you should mark the occasion; celebrate every achievement. Show some excitement and emotion.
To win on the field of life, your body needs every edge it can get off the field. That means eating good foods, exercising, and of course, avoiding drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. Learning what foods work for you, how much rest your body needs, when you can push yourself to your limit and what your limits are: These are the foundation for your hard work and training.
The real winners have balance in their lives. You can’t stay focused on one thing all the time. It’s just not healthy, and you risk burning yourself out. Having hobbies and other interests will keep you fresh, so that when you return to work, you’ll be relaxed and eager to go.
Being a winner is also pursuing your dream with energy and determination. I admire dreamers—people who set lofty goals and then go about trying to reach them. Set your goals high enough so that it takes effort to achieve them; the goals themselves are not as important as the simple fact that you have them and are striving to realize them.
You have to differentiate between big dreams and the attainable goals. Your ultimate dream may be to own a very successful business, to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or to play for the U.S. Women’s National Team. But in fact, few people do. So start with some reachable goals—it is in the journey that you learn the most about yourself. That self-knowledge will help you not only along the way but also beyond, because as you reach one goal, you gain confidence to aspire to the next.
Setting goals helps you grow and succeed. Without goals, how can you be sure what you are training for, why you’re asking so much of yourself? Most people have a vague idea in their mind about the future, and that uncertainty impedes their ability to achieve greatness. Write your goals down or articulate them. This process will give you focus, help you determine whether those aspirations are right for you or whether you need to set new ones. Setting out without a direction will lead you nowhere, and dreams without follow-through are just that—dreams.
One of the most important parts of being a winner in life is being happy. A happy person makes those around them happy as well, and that is one of the greatest gifts of all. Make decisions in your life that lead to happiness, and that can be a lot more difficult than making decisions on the field that lead to goals. If you make a bad decision, you have to bounce back and try to make the next one better. If you pursue what you love, you will find happiness. We all know that the pursuit will be filled with its share of hardships and struggles, but if I can follow my life’s passion despite all the changes in schools, cities, and friends of my childhood, so can you.
Excellence in Action: What can you do to find more balance in your life? Spend a few hours each weekend enjoying your favorite hobby.
