In your life so far… have you been playing to WIN?
Or have you been playing to NOT lose?
Playing To Not Lose
If you’re playing to “not lose,” you’re playing it safe in life.
You’re cautious. Probably overly-cautious.
You want to avoid mistakes, so you hold yourself back.
Maybe that shows up in holding back from stepping up at work or applying for a dream job you want because you think you’re not capable enough.
Or maybe you’re holding back from quitting your job to do what you love because you’re afraid of losing what you have – even though what you have isn’t making you fulfilled or happy.
Playing to not lose means instead of doing what you know you need to do to go after your dreams, you wait.
You wait for everything to be perfect before you take any action.
You wait to see if an opportunity falls in your lap.
Playing to not lose is an avoidance strategy and while it may protect you from the potential pain of negative feedback, rejection or failure it’s a costly approach.
Because the more you live in that space, the more you end up focusing on settling for what you have rather than going after what you want.
Playing To Win
“Playing to win” begins with the belief that you can win.
That you have limitless potential… which you do.
That EVERYTHING is possible… which it is.
That you are capable of so much more… which you are.
The belief that you can win puts YOU in the driver’s seat of your life.
It allows you to take initiative, to be resourceful and to take the necessary actions that will better your chances of winning — even if taking those actions comes with a particular risk.
But don’t mistake taking risks for being reckless.
It’s not about doing things without weighing them up or taking some precautions or doing your homework first.
Like when we decided to quit our careers and leave Sydney back in 2019.
When we left our jobs, friends and home to move to another part of Australia where we knew no one to start a business together, to many on the outside (our parents included… at first), it might have looked reckless.
But we spent hours discussing it and planning our finances so we knew we were provided for.
We had contingency plans in place should we need them.
And then we took the leap.
Because we dared to dream.
Because we asked ‘how can we make this happen’.
Because we believed it was possible.
When you play to win, you put yourself out there.
You ask yourself, ‘HOW can I make this possible?’
You take responsibility for your life.
You channel your energy and attention into doing what’s necessary to move things forward.
You focus your energy on your goals, dreams and ambitions.
And it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, because the more you fixate on the positive outcomes, the more likely they are to become to your reality.
If you only ever work to protect what you’ve already have, you miss out on seizing the opportunities at hand and exploring your potential.
Playing it safe is the most costly game plan of all.
So we invite you to consider…
In which areas of your life are you playing to not lose?
And what would it look like if you decided to play to win instead?
Cathy x