Here’s a common assessment I’ve heard to describe people who limit their own growth potential:
“They’re not playing to win; they’re playing to not lose.”
But to reach your full potential, to truly win, you have to be willing to lose some things.
You may need to spend money or political or social capital to accomplish something important. You may need to use up time, energy, emotion or attention. You may need to give up comfort, prestige, or certainty.
And you may have to do that many times over, with no guarantee of success.
But that doesn’t mean gambling away everything you value for a remote chance of winning.
Not at all.
First, identify what winning means to you. How do you define success? Is it a title? An income level? Respect at work? Peace at home? The love of your children? The knowledge that you’ve made a positive difference in the world?
After you know what winning looks like, decide what you’re actually willing to give up in order to try to reach that goal.
When you realize what you’re ready to give up in order to gain what you want to win, you can stop playing to not lose.
And if you’d like help finding your own definition of success, let’s talk. Visit stevedwire.com/talk for a complimentary conversation.
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