You Can’t Lose if You Don’t Play
Looking for the secret of not losing? Easy.
Looking to not lose? Just don’t join the game.
You know what’s no fun? Failure. Losing.
You can’t win if you don’t play. — California lottery tagline
Do you learn from success? Sure. But do you learn more from failure. Probably. If you succeed, do you know what you did right? If you fail, do you know what you did wrong? Either way, will you know what you did right or wrong if you don’t do it at all? No, of course not. You can’t just a foot race if it doesn’t happen. You can’t admire a painting if it’s not on the wall. You can’t read a book that has no words. You can’t get in shape without exercising your body. You can’t judge something that doesn’t exist. If it doesn’t exist, then it didn’t win or lose, it didn’t join the game.
Just Put on the Shoes
The hardest part is starting. Looking to go for a run. If you can just get your shoes and put them on, you’re 73% there. You’re not going to put on the shoes and then not go. Putting on shoes is easy, you (probably) do it everyday. Maybe not the running shoes, but at least you know how to do it. Get them on and step out the door.
One Day at a Time
One run is great. Wasn’t that something!? You did it! But you were hoping to get into shape (or paint that painting or write a book or start a business or take that big trip). It’s just as easy as repeating what you did. Take it easy, don’t go running 10 times in one day. Stay consistent, keep at it. You’ll have bad days and good days, but you’re doing it. You’re in the process, you’re doing it, you’re no longer out of the game.
Where’s that Book I Started?
I wrote a book maybe 10 years ago. It’s about our trip through Africa. It’s a love story mixed with travel and fear of … travel and love. Why isn’t it published? Why isn’t it out there? It’s done (or could use a bit of editing … ), but it’s pretty much done. Why doesn’t it exist? The answer is way too simple: because then it’s out of the gates, then it’s on the field, then it can be judged and it could fail. If it stays on the shelf where it is now, it’s safe, there’s no fear of losing, failure, criticism. It’s in a good place. But it’s smoldering, my heart has been aching for years while it sits there on the sidelines. It has cost too much pain and suffering to have it eek out its (lack of) existence on the shelf. When will I set it free? What has to happen to make that change, to take that step? It’s a huge step and it’s mostly about fear. When will I overcome? Is it time?
