So why do we like “winners”?
Think about it… think back to the times in your life when you’ve observed someone winning something.. a sports event, a competition, anything, even a silly game show. Some of the more challenging game shows like “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”, where the allure of high financial payouts make for an often entertaining show to watch…. you wonder to yourself, “Are they going to do it?” “Are they going to go all the way?”….and you start to feel that little rise of excitement.
That little rise of excitement that starts in the pit of your stomach and then creeps up ever-so-slowly towards your throat as they get closer to the goal. Each question or rung of the ladder has the possibility of knocking that dream of theirs down. Does it crush yours at the same time?
I am including a clip here from the previously mentioned show for an example:
I include this because for me, watching this, I knew the answers to his last two questions immediately and I thought “Oh man, I would have won.” That is, of course, assuming that I would have gotten all the way up to those last two questions, which is something that very well could have not happened, but that’s a different post. My point is, while I was watching, my excitement for this guy just started rising, and I knew he was going to get it. I even found myself surprised that he was calling his father, but genuinely laughed when he said “I really don’t need your help, Dad. I was just calling to tell you I was going to win the million dollars.”
We love seeing winners because it brings out the winner in each of us – that drive, that desire we have as humans TO ACHIEVE. Containing that drive in one’s self in a controlled and directed manner is difficult for most, for many wear it like a badge, a sheriff’s star in which they puncture the dreams of everyone around them with veracity and aggressiveness that it becomes impossible to appreciate their efforts, Their “dream” becomes a turn-off to others around them who want to achieve dreams as well as makes the balance of everyone just become OFF.
BUT there are also many who carefully guide their dreams and desires through many years of dedication and direction, who plan behind the scenes for their “something bigger”, even if those who are in their immediate circles do not understand.
As humans, we have a desire to be liked and appreciated by those around us. We also have detractors in society who say “it doesn’t matter what other people think about you” and while that statement is true to a certain point, the truth of the matter is that it DOES matter. This is why we have overlying societal acceptance of courteous behavior, manners, and the concept of morals, although once you start trying to dictate and pinpoint morals for others you have crossed into dangerous territory.
The overlying point to all of this is that WINNING is within us all, and you should never EVER be afraid to TRY to win at something you love to do. You should never be afraid to FAIL while you’re doing something you LOVE to do, either, because it is only through our failures that we learn to correct ourselves. Because of a multitude of different pressures and situations many of us have been taught that failure is bad, but in fact, it can often be the best teacher of all – it is just a mindset that must be adjusted. Failure does not have to be permanent.
Let yourself enjoy the prospect of WINNING.
Let yourself HOPE.
Let yourself DREAM.
LET YOURSELF BELIEVE.
Because when you allow these feelings and emotions to combine together, I believe they produce an unstoppable force that can bring out the WINNER in each and every one of us, and I truly believe that is something very, very real.
So go on, Go Be A Winner.
Here’s the lyrics to this awesome song sung by Patti Labelle, “There’s A Winner In You”, written by Ashford & Simpson
It’s only me, I’ve come to see you
And I know, what you’ve been through
I will be your friend, lean on me for now
Got to pull you back up, somehow
And I’ll, have no more of this, moping around
I’m tired of you, putting yourself down
‘Cos in spite of all, you’ve been through
I still believe, there’s a winner in you
Sometimes you can see it on the tip of your mind
But can’t focus at all times
Then the wind takes it to another
Before you discover
There’s a winner, there’s a hero
There’s a lover too, somewhere, there’s a winner in you
And I’ll, have no more of this, moping around
I’m tired of you, putting yourself down
‘Cos in spite of all, you’ve been through
I still believe, there’s a winner in you
There’s a winner, there’s a hero
There’s a lover too, somewhere, there’s a winner in you
There’s a winner, there’s a hero
There’s a lover too, somewhere, there’s a winner in you