Winning at Life
Winning - it’s a funny context. I think of sports and competitions when I think of winning.
I really enjoy sports and competitions In my life, I have taken part in many competitions.
Sports.
Knowledge Bowls.
Cattle Judging.
Speaking.
Business.
Sales.
Fitness.
Exhibiting animals.
Driving - who doesn’t love a good go-kart race!
I could probably keep going.
I’ve won some on the highest possible level. Others I have failed miserably. Each of those contests had a start and a finish. Finite. All finite.
Our life is finite. We have a day when it all comes to a screeching halt. However, I wonder what is winning at life? Do we have a scoreboard?
In his book, The Infinite Game, Simon Sinek establishes the parameters of finite versus infinite games. An element of finite games is a commonly held scoring system.
If life falls under the category of finite, what is the commonly held scoring system? Is it based on titles, achievements, finances, possessions, good looks?
For much of my life, I was driven to play the game of life, trying to score wherever I could. I painstakingly could not comprehend my value -what I was worth to others. Scoring was hard. Your ‘personal’ value may fall into the ‘scoring system’ assumption as well.
As I’ve failed forward in life, I have found personal values or the desire to achieve the metrics I mentioned earlier are not commonly held.
While one person can justify their title, time put into a career, or possessions as a scoreboard, others have a much different gauge.
As a culture, especially in America, we have come to celebrate -nearly worship- people with stunning possessions, big bank accounts, countless followers, inflated egos, etc. We have defined ‘worthiness’ and ‘success’ by working long hours and being ruthless in pursuing private jets and more zeros. Yet, many have climbed the status ‘building’ and found the climb wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth it due to the cost to their relationships, their health, their fulfillment.
If you lost every dollar or possession today, what would you be left with? Theoretically, your health and your relationships; I’d say those are priceless.
I believe leaders today are standing at a crossroad. An intersection where we see the path established by a previous generation -one facilitated on the premise of scorched Earth- to exhaust every available resource. In another direction, a way rife with sustainability and conservationism, where personal health, relationships, and self-awareness is the currency by which people value.
It is not my role to judge.
I can only speak of my experiences and lessons learned.
To win is to be successful in an endeavor. To be successful is to accomplish an aim or purpose. I sincerely believe my purpose is more than winning a contest. I believe your purpose is more too!
