Nov
An Acceptance of Victory
We went to the hockey game Saturday night. The New Jersey Devils played the Washington Capitols. The game was fast, exciting and high-scoring. It went into overtime and ended with a shoot-out. Final score was 6 to 5. The Devils won.
The score had see-sawed all evening. At no point did either team lose steam. They were pretty evenly matched. Even as the end of the game neared, both teams played hard. They both believed that no matter what the score, they still could win.
Here we see one of the keys to success. It is the belief that no matter what the score, your success is still possible. You have a chance, even if it is “late in the game” and you are down a few points. The most obvious place to see it is sports. There are teams in all sports who play as if they have every chance to win, even if the score is against them. These are the teams who can surprise everyone in the last period, last inning or last quarter. They can do it because they refuse to cave in to futility.
Many losses in life are less a matter of superior opposition and more a thing of accepting defeat. A momentary shift in fortune is enough to make some lose their confidence They see a setback as a disaster rather than a temporary obstacle. So it is that these individuals concede defeat long before the game is over, be it sports, business or war.
One is best advised to believe that he always has a chance at success so long as things are in play. He must hold to the hope that he can win, even if things go against him. Then and only then does he have a chance of success. The one who only sees victory when things go his way diminishes his chances of success. The one who believes in success even when he seems to be losing increases his chances of victory.
In sports as in life, victory thrives when there is a mind toward success.
