“Sometimes it will be like driving through the fog, where you can only see the road 10 yards ahead of you. But if you keep moving forward, more of the road will be revealed, and eventually, you will arrive at the goal.”  ~ Jack Canfield

Our culture celebrates only 1st place. Anything less and you are viewed as a loser. Think about how our society views the 2nd place team at a Super Bowl and a World Series –  losers. There used to be a commercial that referred to the Olympics. While I don’t remember the product, I do remember the line, “You didn’t win the silver, you lost the gold.” Take a few moments and think about what that is saying. Here’s my interpretation. On a given day, an athlete delivered the 2nd best performance in a sport on the planet. Yet they are diminished and labeled a loser. 

This philosophy is pervasive in our society. We can never have enough, be enough, or accomplish enough. There will always be someone who has more and on some level, we’ll continue to think of ourselves as losers. This sets us up for a lifetime of unhappiness, resentment of others, envy, and in general, a self-defeating, unhappy existence. Objectively and critically viewing this can only lead to one conclusion. People that subscribe to this philosophy are getting a dangerously high reading on the dumbass meter. Unlike Wimbledon, in the game of life, there is more than one winner. In fact, we all can and should win at the game of life. I should not view your success as in any way diminishing me. In turn, my success simply involves playing the hand I was dealt. My job is to take my circumstances and find ways, large and small, to improve things on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly scale. Winning is not about being #1. Winning is about constantly improving! To be happy, consciously decide what winning is for YOU rather than letting our culture set the rules. When I need an emotional lift, I will go back and look at old goal lists, sometimes years old. As I review them, I’m reminded of how much things have improved and how much has been accomplished. This helps re-energize and inspire me. Adopting healthy attitudes combined with constant improvement in all parts of your life will equal “getting a life”.

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”  ~Booker T. Washington