In the light of last weekend's debacle in South Africa, Seth Godin gives us a timely lesson in the pertinence of winning.
"A toddler wants what she wants, now. That's a win.
A little later, when we're more mature, we might define winning as getting what we want at the expense of someone else. I win when you lose. And yes, winning still means now, not later.
A demagogue cares so much about winning that he'd rather wreck the system itself than lose. It's okay, he believes, to root for the failure of the republic or to destroy civility or democracy if it leads to something that could be called a win.
What happens when you define a win as getting closer to someone who wants the same thing? Or when you define it as improvement over time? Or in creating trust?"
Often I have found myself saying to someone, "Are you winning?" It is a light throwaway comment, but I guess I am asking is: are you making progress, are things changing, do you see things moving on?
Of course, one of the key emotional benefits of winning is feeling satisfied and fulfilled, but I do wonder how many of us feel like that.
In the advertising business world, of which I have been apart of for the last 25 odd years, winning accounts is everything, It is a tough world to survive in for sure.
But when you win business it feels great because often so many 'man hours' and effort have gone into it. Staff may get rewarded with pay rises, bonuses, industry awards, but I want to suggest these are not the best wins you can have.
For me, the best wins are in the small, everyday, barely noticed stuff.
It is grabbing a deep and meaningful twenty minute conversation with one of my daughters. It is having a chance meeting with someone in Caffe Nero and finding out we have so much in common. It is finally seeing signs of new grass seed growing over a stubborn bald patch of grass in the back garden. It is seeing someone unexpectedly smiling through their adversity.
Jesus said, "Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself." (Matthew 6:34)
We need to dismiss that mindset that tells us something ahead is always going to be bigger and better than today. It may, but equally it may not.
As a result, we will end up missing the small stuff in life. Therefore, cherish the small things today, because one day you may you look back and see that they were actually the big things.
ASD
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