Winning – A counter perspective!

I received a sms from a friend of mine, which said, “Winner can show you the way to success, but a loser can make you aware of all the ways leading to a failure.” What a beautiful thought isn’t?

It has always been a mystery to me as to why people always turn up to only the winners (or toppers) to get the much needed tips for success. When I was in school, a lot of my friends used to approach the toppers of the previous batch and enquire about their methodology of preparation and the way they managed their time. They used to run behind them and ask them about the strategies they adopted to succeed. I didn’t see anything wrong with that. That is exactly how the world goes about. People always turn to winners for advice.

You might have already begun to feel that I’m some kinda rebellion or something, who is all set to break the norms of the world. No!! Not actually…What really bothered me then were questions like, is that the only way to succeed or achieve your desired goals? Aren’t there any alternative approaches to do the same? Amidst the devouring eagerness to achieve success, what my friends usually forgot to enquire, was about the set backs he/she faced while achieving the same. I was pretty much sure of one thing; success isn’t always a cake walk! There ought to be hard times and there ought to some sacrifices behind great achievements. But unfortunately the world around us barely seems to acknowledge the same. We all feel it pleasing to know about the brighter side of the success story.

Labeling winners as a different breed of species altogether isn’t fair enough. At some point or the other, they too would have begun the race as beginners, just like anyone else. Then what is that makes them stand out of the breed? It is their ability to hold nerves till the very end, when others failed to do so. Sometimes I really feel that what one needs to know about winning is not what he/she has to do, but rather what he/she must rather avoid doing!! With this very logic in my mind, I would often consult a lot of my seniors who, not necessarily had topped the class but rather failed to do so. Trust me folks, I always managed to gain more information from them than what I actually got from the so-called winners/toppers. Those whom I approached, told me clearly what-not-to-do, rather than what-to-do. As I used to implement those tips, I would discover that it was those crucial don’t-do-these set of tips that helped more than the lambi list of must-do-these ones!! One mustn’t blindly follow the tips given by a winner for success. He or she must have the patience to analyze the situation he is currently facing, along with his/her limitations. When you know precisely what you can’t possibly do, then it becomes very easy to build a winning strategy that would suit you perfectly. When I see parents forcing their kids to run behind a topper to gather those precious pearls of success mantras, I feel sorry for the poor kids. The mantra for success isn’t that generic folks! Remember that what’s good for someone might be fatal to the other!!

Now having spoken about a counter perspective on winning, I would leave you with the following set of questions to think about:

Is it always a winner who can enlighten you about the infallible ways/secrets for success? Aren’t failures aware of what it takes to win? Isn’t he/she worth being consulted for an opinion or guidance? Don’t you feel that all winning strategies are unique in their own sense?

Just a tangential thought!

They say that the most successful people in this world are those who have handled their failures far better than they handled their successes. It isn’t a crime to approach a failure for guidance. Is it? Think about it… You might actually be seeking a piece of advice from one of the most successful people in this world!! Trust me, by doing so; you would be doing yourself a great deal of favor!!

PS: I remember having read this long time ago on the cover page a note book, “I cannot give you the formula for success but I can definitely give you the mantra for failure, try to impress everyone.” See it’s as simple as that!!

~IT's My Life