I have had this saying rattling around in my head for more than a week now. I have even written a blog on the topic, more than once, in my head. Usually it was while I was lying in bed, desperately trying to go to sleep. Yeah, that wasn't working out so well. Anyway, all of last week went by and no blogs were actually committed to type, and this little gem is still rattling around my brain. I decided to look it up on google and see if I could source an author for it. Turns out it is one of those mysterious ones for which no one is leaping to take credit. Author Unknown. Hmmmm.
I did, however, find it among some Motivational Sports Quotations. This was one them: "It doesn't matter if you try and try and try again, and fail. It does matter if you try and fail, and fail to try again." ~Charles Kettering. As an aside, I like this quote ever so much better. But, it isn't what I am actually here to talk about. This isn't the quote that has been buggering my brain. So, moving on...
The first quote (the one at the top of the page) is simply not true. I know that the intent is designed to be true, but it is not true. I do believe that it matters how you play the game. If you don't play the game with integrity, then it doesn't matter if you win. Even in winning, you lose. But that first part is what I take issue with, because it matters. We all care about winning. I would say that it is a stigma isolated to this country, but is NOT. And if you doubt me, look at how all of the countries that train for the Olympic World Games. Competition is a fierce thing. Medaling is important. At the end of the day, it is all about who medaled. What country has the most Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals. What individual has broken World Records in Medals. It is about Winning. They do not devote talk time for Losers. It does matter if you win or lose, and no one cares how the lowest scoring person played the game. Sorry. They don't. This is all about Winners.
Frankly, this quote is another lie we perpetrate onto ourselves and our children when we LOSE. I do believe that I have used this one as a salve when I didn't win at something. And it made me feel better for about ten seconds and then I all I wanted to do was either practice harder so I would be better next time, or quit because it wasn't my "thing." Ergo, I really needed to move on and find my talent so I could stop wasting my time on something I didn't enjoy all that much. Failure makes you decide how badly you want something. Failure is a good thing. We all should fail at something at least once. And we should not relax in idiotic phrases like the one above to enjoy it. If we played our best game, or did our best, then we can satisfy ourselves with that. It is all about HOW you played the game. Did you enjoy the game? Is it for you? Do you want to keep on playing? Do you want to push yourself to do better?
It's always about whether you win or lose. Winning and losing help us navigate this thing called Life. And if you think that it doesn't matter, that only tells me you've never won anything.
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