Playing to Win

Michael Jordan broke my heart.  I hate to admit it now but he did.  My heart was broken 2 years in a row when Michael led the Chicago Bulls to victory over the Utah Jazz in the NBA finals.  Yes it was devastating. 

And Michael Jordan was amazing.  It was not just how he flew through the air like a gazelle, sheer and absolute athleticism and beauty in action but Michael Jordan had mastered the Art of Playing to Win. 

Most sports fans will know exactly what I am talking about here.  There are games where the teams show up and play to win and then there are the games where a team will play “not to lose”.  It has to do with the energy of the team.  It’s playing scared. It’s forcing shots.  It’s desperation moves. It’s not being in the right place, not being in the flow of the game.  It’s playing “not to lose”.

When a team plays “not to lose” they rarely win. 

It is the same with our lives, with jobs, careers, businesses, goals and aspirations, relationships.  When we play the game with fear, angst, trepidation, apprehension we are playing “not to lose”; we are not tapping into that magic that comes when we play to win.

There is a power that comes when you play the game to win.  It’s calm assurance and confidence.  It’s fearlessness.  It’s knowing you are in the right place and you are doing the right thing.  In sports they call it “heart”. 
In real life it can be called the same thing.

Michael was the undisputed “Best” at the game.  He played with passion and he played with purpose.  Michael did not have the arrogance and cockiness that many players show.  He didn’t have to. He had the absolute confidence and self-assurance of knowing he was the best.  He knew he was worthy of being “His Airness”.  He was the one who prepared for it, he was the one who knew the game, inside and out.  He knew it was his place to be the best, to be counted as one of the greatest athletes of the century.  He was the one to leave the legacy.  He did not doubt his place. Michael played the game to win.

So we can all analyze our situations and our lives…are you playing the game to win or are you playing “not to lose”.

It’s your call.

This article is featured on the Carnival of Career Intensity January 20, 2007 edition.  Since there are only five articles chosen each week I am honored and gratified that my writing is making an impact.  I have been included among excellence as the other four articles are also well worth taking the time to read.  You can see them at CareerIntensity.com 

This article is included in the Carnival of Powerful Living located at Verve Coaching.  As you can see I am like a kid at the carnivals.  Yes this is fun!