Winners vs. Losers

Reprinted from poweressence.com.

If you have issues with labels, such as winners and losers, then you probably already believe that you are a loser and you hate it and you hate it even more when others put you into that category. You are responsible for how you see yourself. Learn to take any criticism constructively and to use it to your advantage.

So what if you think you’re a loser? Do you want to change? There may be some things at which you’ll always fail, but hopefully there are areas in your life in which you can win and excel to your full potential. If you’ve tried repeatedly at something and getting no where, then in some cases it is better to drop that goal and use your focus and time to try something else. Only you can determine if you should continue or not, and ending a goal isn’t necessarily being a loser if you’ve tried everything you know of and you still can’t achieve what you want. Giving up too early can be considered a losing strategy, while a winning strategy depends on patience and determination if you are actually making progress toward your goal.

 

Winning vs. Losing

A golfer says, "I sure hope I don't land in the sand trap." A swimmer says, "I hope I don't go out too hard and die," a runner says, "I don't want my legs to cramp up at the end of my race," the list is endless..."I sure hope I don't botch this interview".

Next time you are lining up for your "shot", check your self-talk. Make sure you see what you want rather than what you want to avoid.

Use the following list of comparisons to determine if you are a winner or not. Remember, sometimes it takes losing at things to determine how to achieve successful results. Winners know how to assess current reality relative to their goals, and how to adjust their actions to take winning steps to those goals.  

Winners	Losers
Winners see solutions.	Losers see problems.
Winners take responsibility.	Losers blame others.
Winners find opportunity in crisis.	Losers complain about circumstances.
Winners take action consistently.	Losers avoid taking action and lack consistency.
Winners have dreams.	Losers have schemes.
Winners learn from the past, but live in the present.	Losers live in the past.
Winners make commitment and keep them.	Losers make promises that they always break.
Winners see the gain.	Losers see the pain.
Winners follow the philosophy: “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.”	Losers follow the philosophy, “Do it to others before they do it to you.”
Winners think about how they can achieve.	Losers give excuses.
Winners make personal development a priority.	Losers neglect personal development.
Winners face their fear, accept it and take the leap.	Losers dwell in their fear.
Winners constantly expand their comfort zone.	Losers stay in their comfort zone.
The Winner says,” It may be difficult but it is possible.”	The Loser says,” It may be possible but is too difficult.”
Winners see an answer for every problem.	Losers see a problem in every answer.
Winners take failure in their stride and learn from it.	Losers fear failure and avoid it at all cost.
Winners try different strategies when they are not getting the results they want.	Losers do the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
Winners set goals.	Losers lack goals.
Winners plan.	Losers fail to plan.
Winners believe there are always things to learn.	Losers believe they know everything they need to know.
Winners are humble.	Losers are egoistic.
Winners continue to hone their skills every day without fail.	Losers make little effort in honing their skill.
Winners work hard.	Losers avoid work.
Winners give their best for the things that they decide to do.	Losers give up when obstacles pop up.
Winners manage their time well.	Losers indulge in time wasting activities.
Winners dream in the day.	Losers dream in bed.
Winners think about possibilities.	Losers focus on obstacles.
Winners are certain.	Losers doubt.
Winners control their own destiny.	Losers leave everything to fate.
Winners give more than they take.	Losers take more than they give.
Winners think whether the crowd is going in the right direction. If not, he will walk the other direction.	Losers follow the crowd.
Winners think and lead.	Losers react and follow.
Winners listen.	Losers fight for every chance to talk.
Winners always find a better way to do things.	Losers stick to one way of doing things.
Winners help others to win.	Losers refuse to help and think only about their own benefit.
Winners find like minded people like themselves that can bring them to greater height.	Losers find like minded people like themselves that will drag them to failure.
Winners make it happen.	Losers let it happen.

You Decide

So which are you? Whatever social status in which you were born, or what you were given by others doesn’t have any relevance to whether you are a winner or loser. How you use what you currently have in current situations determines if you are winning and gaining benefits or losing. If you make the best of your situation, then you are a winner. No matter how bad the situation, you can still feel like a winner if you truly are winning and gaining experience and proverbial ground by taking actions to win. Learn to motivate yourself to take actions toward your goals. Decide to take action NOW!

Sure, that sounds simple to do — just make the most of your life and you will be a winner. But if it were that simple, then why isn’t everyone a winner? Why are so many people unsatisfied with their lives? The answer is that becoming a winner in your life takes energy and action and it usually never happens randomly or by accident. It is something you must do consciously and by choice. Plus, many people don’t have the knowledge and practical skills necessary to develop into winners. They are basically confused or misinformed about how life works. They tend to rely on others to pull them through or provide necessary answers. However, everyone has the potential to be a self-sufficient winner.

 

Take Responsibility

To be a winner, you need to take responsibility for your successes and failures. Many people have decided that success depends on external factors — such as luck, connections, the financial market, fate, other people, God, to name a few. These people do not rely on themselves for success and success rarely manifests for people in this frame of mind. These types of people lack direction and motivation. They believe that they are just along for the ride in life, and they hope for the best, which is usually a handout or better situation provide by other people.

Responsibility and self-direction go hand in hand. You decide where you want to go, and then you take the responsibility for getting yourself there. If required, then educate yourself on how to get where you want to be. Read books and talk to people, but always make up your own mind about it all. Be your own authority and the final decider on what you need to do to be a winner.

Winners usually experience happiness continually. They utilize their available time wisely and can remain in positive mental states while creating values, such as products and services that people want, and thus are rewarded with opportunities, purchases or exchanges of items or services.

Losers are usually trapped in negative-attitude ruts and they use their abilities and efforts in negative and unproductive ways. They spend time trying to find ways to avoid responsibility and avoid taking action toward the things they really want. Most of the time, they end up not getting what they want, and at the same time they have confirmed and reinforced their losing attitude. If you choose to evolve your winning skills, you will start to notice your own thoughts and attitude change for the better. Becoming aware of your attitude is important. If your attitude is negative, then you’re probably not getting what you want or you’re moving in the wrong direction. The path toward winning and success is both an internal and an external one — internally it takes attitude, education, focus, and planning, and externally it takes active steps to achieve your goals, adjusting your steps if necessary, and then taking more steps.

Almost everyone has both some losing and winning qualities to various degrees, so no one is 100% winner or loser. We all have our strong qualities and then there are the areas in which we need to work at it more. Hopefully you now have a better understanding of how to proceed in your personal journey of success and how to live your life like a winner. Find something you’re interested in doing and go for it!

"Winners see what they want; losers see what they want to avoid."

Having a Bad Day? Bummer for you.

Posted by Glenn Mills on May 30, 2011 12:51PM (0 views)

I've written and re-written this a few times.  I'm not really sure the right tack to take to get this point across, so I'll make it short.

There is a harsh reality of athletics: There is a direct relationship between work and reward.  With that said, and don't just read these next words, understand them - your competition and the clock don't care about your excuses.

The next time you sit back and feel sorry for yourself because you have too much work, or you're too tired, or you're sore from practice the day before... thank God that you have such problems and not real ones.

The athletic life is short lived.  Before you know it, you'll have a real job and be wishing your biggest problems were if you were going to get your math homework done.  I've adopted a new motto this year when talking to swimmers:  You have two choices in your career.  You can start working on your excuses, or you can start working on your solutions.

Now, sit back for 10 minutes and watch the following video (if it's not showing up, hit refresh).  The next time you feel sorry for yourself, think about people who would LOVE to be in your shoes, with such simple problems.

Visit Sean's Website and follow him on twitter.  Keep reminding yourself that most of us have choices.  Typically the best ones, are the hardest ones.

Go Swim

SWIMMMING FAST WHEN IT COUNTS: TOP 10 MENTAL TOUGHNESS TIPS

BY DR. ALAN GOLDBERG//SPORT PSYCHOLOGIST

There's no question that success in the pool on race day is 95% mental and 5% physical. By the time that big race rolls around, all the hard work has been done. That lifetime best swim is already inside of you, just waiting for you to release it. Make use of these ten mental toughness tips to help you get that fast swim out when it counts the most:

1.  STAY CALM & LOOSE PRE-RACE – Staying loose and relaxed the hours and minutes before you swim is the secret to going fast under pressure. Tight muscles wreck your stroke mechanics and kill your endurance, making it impossible for you to swim to your potential. Loose muscles allow your body to perform as trained. Listen to relaxing music, talk with friends, keep yourself distracted from thinking about the race, keep your breathing slow and deep and have fun pre-race to help yourself remain calm and loose.

2.  LEAVE YOUR GOALS AT HOME ON RACE DAY – Your goals are a motivational tool that helps drive you to work hard each and every day in practice. They should NEVER be brought on deck with you on race day because they will weigh you down. Swimmers who think about or dwell on their goal times right before and/or during their races, make themselves too nervous and physically tight to swim fast. Remember, you don't have to think about your goal times at meets in order to reach them. 

3.  STAY IN YOUR OWN LANE – Keep your pre and during race focus of concentration in between your two lane lines on what YOU are doing and NOT on the competition. The more you concentrate on what you are doing, the more relaxed you'll stay, the faster you'll go and the better chance you'll have of actually beating the competition. Conversely, the more you think about and focus on what other swimmers are doing, the more nervous you'll get, the slower you'll go and the less likely you'll be to beat them.

4. STAY IN THE “NOW” BEFORE AND DURING YOUR RACES -  One of the more costly mental mistakes swimmers make is to allow their pre- and durin- race focus of concentration to “time travel.” When you mentally leave the now and jump ahead to the future or fall back to the past, you'll make yourself uptight and sabotage all of your hard work. Discipline yourself to keep your focus in the “now,” both before and especially during your races. At the meet, focus on one race at a time and during your races, focus on one stroke or turn at a time.

5. BE AWARE WHENEVER YOUR CONCENTRATION DRIFTS AND IMMEDIATELY BRING IT BACK -  It's perfectly normal for you to lose your focus before and during your races because there are usually tons of things that can distract you. Understand that losing your concentration won't really hurt you. What will cause you to consistently swim slowly is losing your focus and not quickly returning it back to the right focus. Discipline yourself to recognize the instant your concentration leaves what YOU are doing in the NOW and quickly bring yourself back.     

6. KEEP YOUR RACE FOCUS ON FEEL, NOT ON THOUGHTS – Swimming fast happens when you are focusing on the feel of what you are doing without thinking about it. For example, this could be how much water you're pulling, feeling a stretch under your arm each stroke or feeling your body move forward rather than up and down. Thinking thoughts like “I've got to go faster,” “She's pulling ahead of me,” or “My arms and legs feel like lead,” is a major distraction that will always slow you down. Focus on feel when you race and when thoughts intrude, quickly return your concentration back to the feel of what you're doing.

7. HAVE FUN – If you want to have the meet of your life, then you have to understand that this can only happen when you are having fun before and during the meet. Fun = speed. If you make a meet or any race too important, and you're too serious going in, then that will drain all the fun out of you and in its place will be a lot of nervous tension. When you're having fun, you're mentally and physically loose and relaxed, and as we talked about in point No. 1, staying calm and loose is the secret to swimming fast under pressure.      

8. FOCUS ONLY ON THINGS THAT YOU CAN CONTROL – There are a lot of things at meets and in races that are directly out of your control. For example, you have no direct control over how fast your competition swims, what kind of pool you're competing in, who's in your heat or the time you went in your last race or meet. When you focus on these “uncontrollables” either before or during your races, you'll get nervous and physically tight, lose your confidence and swim poorly. Instead, keep your concentration only on those things that you can control. 

9. KNOW THAT LAST MINUTE DOUBTS AND NEGATIVE THOUGHTS ARE NORMAL – It's very common to have last minute doubts and negative thoughts pop into your head right before you race. Know that you can still swim your best with this negative thinking going on just as long as you stay calm, accept the thinking for what it is – simply brainwave activity – and then quickly refocus your concentration on the task at hand. Try not to fight with the negative thoughts, replace them with positive ones, or work to keep them out of your mind. This approach only makes the negative thinking stronger. Instead, notice them, accept them as normal, and then refocus.

10. TRUST AND LET IT HAPPEN – You'll always swim your very best when you relax, trust your training and let the fast swim come out, as opposed to trying too hard and  forcing it out. When you make a race too important, there's a tendency to respond by tightening up and muscling the race. Instead, trust your training and your body, know the fast swim is inside and just let it happen. 

USA Swimming Article – SPEEDO Tip of the Week