Sometimes you win; sometimes you learn!

Released on: Thursday, December 23, 2004 8:00 AM

by Robert A Rohm Ph.D

When I was growing up, I often heard the words, “Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose.” Therefore, I always thought those were my only two options - winning or losing. And who wants to lose?

If you think your only two options are winning or losing, you may simply give up and not even try… especially if you think you may not be able to win.

Over the years, I have realized that there are actually more options available to me than winning or losing. I now walk into a situation realizing that although I may not “win,” I can still learn a lot of valuable lessons in the process for future use. Therefore, even when I do not win, if I learn something, I do not “lose!”

Most of us are afraid to try new things, because we fear losing or getting hurt. For example: Have you ever bought a stock? You may lose some money in the process, but I can guarantee you that you will also learn a lot, too! What about relationships? Man, do they hurt, but boy, do they have valuable lessons to learn!

Robert T. Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad really believes in this principle. He says his biggest concern about American education is that children instinctively learn that it is a bad thing to take risks or try hard to succeed in school. If they make a mistake, they could fail… and who wants to fail? Yet, he believes that attitude of risk-taking and learning from his own mistakes and failures have resulted in the very lessons he needed to learn in order to become financially prosperous. It turns out that our mistakes are really good teachers!

This principle has helped me personally to be a lot gentler with myself. I have shifted my attitude away from being afraid of making a mistake, to realizing that I may have just learned another very valuable lesson in this process called life. I may have lost a lot of money or other possessions in the process, but in reality I simply paid “tuition” to learn a valuable lesson that could serve me well in the future.

So don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, and be willing to try something new that may help your life be better. You may not win, but you certainly will not lose in the process.

Tip: Sometimes you win; sometimes you learn!

This article is from Dr. Rohm's book, "A Tip in the Right Direction"
Copyright 2004 Personality Insights, Inc. Duplication prohibited. All rights reserved.

Available only to E-Quad with permission of Robert Rhome. Do not copy.

---

    Print this page   E-mail this page