HABIT 4: THINK WIN-WIN
Win- Win I have played high level sports all my life and have grown up with Win at all cost as my anthem in life. To me it was very common having parents and coaches on your back trying to get the best out of you in game winning situations. This has been a positive and a negative point in my life. A positive factor is you learn how to work together as a team, for a common goal with a host of others. Players, coaches, managers and family members imparts to you how to build a collective team synergy and successfully find ways to win. A negative part is if you don’t win in high level sports activity’s you feel just as heartbroken for wining second place as you would feel placing last. There is no balance when you live a life of Win at all cost because in life you don’t always win. This attitude of Win at all cost has lead me to be a big jerk when I was younger and all the way into my late twenty’s. I was the guy you hated to see Win, this is an attitude I have changed over the years, but you don’t really know how annoying you are until you change and you start noticing others with those bad habits. Who cares if you’re the best at checkers, running, golf or other futile things in life? Covey explains “many people think in terms of either/or: either you're nice or you're tough. Win-win requires that you be both. It is a balancing act between courage and consideration. To go for win-win, you not only have to be empathic, but you also have to be confident”. I teach wrestling at our high school and this is something I have taught and will continue to teach. There has to be a balance in wining and “losing”. You only lose if you don’t learn and you never win if you don’t learn. Change your perspective about win at all cost to Win-Win can help you be a better leader, people can be successful and everyone is excited because of the balance you have created.