Everyone wants to win.
It makes life easier, doesn’t it? I remember a statement someone made to me about Jimmy Connors’ view on winning: “When I hated losing enough, I started to win.”
1. Doesn’t that imply a passion for working to overcome weaknesses?
2. Doesn’t that statement imply a burning desire to succeed at what he has a ‘bent’ for?
On the other side, does ‘winning’ make life harder?
I had a young tennis player win a ‘Grand Prix’ 12 and under tennis tournament when he had just been playing for a short time. He had not gone through the ‘tempering’ process before that big win. Ultimately his dad stopped his tennis lessons when his son didn’t continue to win.
1.This younger player showed talent and a passion for being able to win. That didn’t mean he would continue to win without gaining the experience that comes with ‘losing’. When he began to go through that phase of losing, the father couldn’t understand that was part of the process and took him out of tennis. Was that a good decision?
2.When winning early turns into losing, passion is challenged. Is the passion deeply embedded enough to continue through the losing, or does it dissipate quickly. In this case the father made the decision. If the player had been older would he have made the same decision? Sometimes-many times, the less talented work through it and the most talented lose their passion when winning doesn’t come easily.
Normally, the best at what they do in life have talent, a good work ethic and a passion that leads to success. However, the less talented have the work ethic and the passion to succeed to different levels. What are your thoughts?
