Jump to content
Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

No Losers Need Apply


SiG Lady

Recommended Posts

"When was the last time anyone congratulated you for failing??!!"

I'm surprised that statement would really motivate anybody to do anything.  Most successful people faceplanted hard more than once before they succeeded.  Failing isn't necessarily negative, it's only what you make of it.  People whose egos can't bear "failure" are the real losers in my book.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My sig line says it all.... :)

No, I am not sure who said this originally.  I had, at one time, been told it was Churchill and then someone said Norman Vincent Peale.  Who knows.

Cheers!

Kevin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's the little stream of failures that keeps me pointed toward winning--and getting there. That's what it meant. (And I didn't say it--someone else did. But it inspired me all to hell... in a good way, actually

But I really DO prefer how winning feels over losing ...so I tolerate no complacency in myself as it applies to the pursuit of mastery.

(Edited by SiG Lady at 10:31 pm on Jan. 14, 2003)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, does someone congratulating you on the great, non-winning effort count as a failure?  This is assuming they aren't just blowing warm air up your backside but they really mean it.

Yes, winning does feel better than not winning.  This is almost by definition.  However, it is possible to not "win" and still be a "winner".

***IF*** you push yourself and expand your limits a bit beyond what they had been previously then you have won.

A lot of this depends on who you define as the primary competition.  I am still a novice competition shooter that knows darn good and well that I am not going to beat the top dawgs, at least not for another few months. ;)  So, my primary competition is with myself.  I would be lying to say I didn't care how I did compared to everyone else.  That is basic human nature.

Sunday I did a bone head move on the classifier which resulted in a penalty.  I knew it was a penalty the second I did it.  Yes, I pondered the results to see just how much that stupid mistake had cost me.  However, I had shot well for the rest of that stage and so overall it was a win for me.

Of course, all this assumes that you have performed in a proper and sportsmanlike manner.  But that is a whole other subject.

I used to work in a lab where, posted on the wall, was a plaque that read "celebrate ALL victories".  On the ceiling were dimples made by champagne corks.  Each was circled and signed/dated.  There was a log book giving a more detailed description of the event.  Some were for major grant awards, babies, engagements/marriages and so on.  Some were for more mundane things like having a paper accepted for publication, some were for even more minor events like passing a tough class.  But there were always a couple bottles of champage hiding out in the back of the fridge ready to celebrate the next "small victory".  It was a great tradition and as far as I know it continues to this day.

The lesson here was that life can get you down if you focus on the small problems but fail to give equal attention to the small victories.  Small victories are far more frequent than large victories.  Live in the positive.

Celebrate ALL victories!

Cheers!

Kevin

(Edited by kimel at 11:49 pm on Jan. 14, 2003)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...