Do you ever wish you could have done so much more? Like if you had the opportunity to start over, what could have been different? Maybe you would be a millionaire by now because you would have invested in stocks. What about if you had kids sooner so that by now they would be out of your house living their own lives? Perhaps, you would have taken that trip around the world, you know the one you always dreamed of. What if I had just finished college like I was supposed to? The “What If’s” have become a sad song for many of us. I played it over and over until finally the melody no longer had a harmony.
Growing up, I was a star athlete. I played volleyball, basketball, and I ran track. The track field was my domain. I would WIN most of the time. There were so many WINs, I couldn’t remember the losses. I made the local papers. The school gave me the athlete of the year award my senior year. I was the top chick in my High School, at least that’s what I thought until a knee injury took me out of consideration for a scholarship. That’s when the “What If’s” started. The WINs began to decline and I found myself in fierce competition all around me. I no longer had what it took to be the best.
Does any of this sound familiar? What happens when we get to a place where we feel defeated? When life no longer looks like a win for us? Some of you are really good at turning your challenges into great change, while others have soaked up defeat like a sponge. If you are like the latter, my friend, you are not alone. That’s why I decided to write this blog because I knew there was someone else like me. You see, there is nothing new under the sun, and what one of us may be experiencing you must know that there is another somewhere else that can relate. This little silent killer crushes goals and visions. It snatches all WINs, wrecking lives all over the world. How could it be so powerful? Well, in all honesty, it’s not that powerful. A WIN is more powerful. It actually gives defeat a good old-fashioned whooping. I remember getting a lot of these growing up, but that’s another subject. Anyway, the real Nitty Grit is that it’s all about shifting your mindset. The first thing you have to do is define what you call a “defeat” versus what would be a “win.” When you get clear on that then you can assess your situation a little bit differently and confront this nasty little creature. Give your WIN the power to disintegrate defeat and start what I call “the rewriting process.”
It’s time to change the game, y’all. What if you chose to spin your WIN? Give it a new approach by letting it represent you.
Here is what I chose for myself, I will Work smart, be Intentional, and Never give up. With this kind of WIN, defeat doesn’t stand a chance.
We are all running the race of our lives every day. It is not a sprint but a marathon and, I promise you, you will get tired. But know this, you can always stop for a moment and get your breath. If you need some water, take a drink. Don’t think about what place you will come to. It’s about continuing the race that qualifies the WIN. So, when you see defeat trying to challenge your stride, remember to hold your WIN up high.