What is winning?
Crushing opposing teams in a Scrabble tournament! Landing our dream job! Witnessing our favorite teams bring home the 2025 Super Bowl or the 2026 FIFA World Cup! These are all winning moments when others laud us, and we bask in the glory of our achievement. However, what it means to win often differs based on the individual and circumstance.

For instance, watching my mom play a board game with my niece is fascinating! Whenever my niece wins, my mom feels like the victor! I sometimes wonder if her response is partially born of a primal instinct: A matriarchal desire to see her clan thrive. You may have experienced something similar! Notably, we typically do not enjoy seeing others win if it signifies we lost. Indeed, one would not find many with a Powerball ticket wishing another would win the jackpot in their stead. All would lead one to ask, when one wins, must another lose? Or can both win? And what does it mean to win?

Winning in Life

As one who is very competitive with herself and much less with others, I have spent some time pondering this! – Often to quell unsubstantiated anxieties. Lately, such an opportunity arose as I realized the conclusion of Boundless Hope might have been puzzling when I expressed jubilation that I knew the one for me. It seemed I won! – Even though I had not met him! Understandably, this might lead one to wonder: How can you celebrate a dream coming to fruition when you are not living it? In other words, how can you be a winner when you do not have the trophy?

It is a worthwhile question that unfolds an unsettling reality: We tend to view winning exclusively as reaching our desired destination and claiming the prize! But the original meaning of the word conveys something else. In Old English, to win means to succeed by struggling. To toil, to labor, and to strive! Winning seems as much about navigating the journey as reaching a desired destination.

The real win

We each play a critical role in our success. However, reaching a worthwhile destination also depends on factors outside our control: Others have a part to play, and we must be in sync with time. Success lasts when it is a win-win scenario. We win by recognizing and pursuing worthwhile opportunities – wholeheartedly. It is typically all we can do and what we must do.

Fellow explorer, when the path to your dreams seems to require more from you than you feel you can give, I hope you walk with others, stay your course, and run your race as best you can!

Until next time!

For you and to you,
Aké

Image credit: Pixabay