At the start of any endeavor, there are two major motivations.
One is to win, the other is to learn—and they make a Big difference.
A difference in perspective.
A difference in performance.
A difference in longevity.
If a person’s sole motivation is to win, chances are, they’re not going to be around for long.
Sooner or later, the winner loses.
And, when the winner loses, their emotions will inevitably get the best of them.
They’re a “winner”. That’s the IDEA they have in their head. And winners hate losing.
They can’t stand it.
Most of the time, they’ll only try things they Know they’ll win at.
Or, they don’t try at all – because they Hate being seen at the bottom—losing.
Mistakes are the enemy, and so is everyone (s)he makes them with.
They’re only in it for the results: to be seen, to get recognition/attention, to get the win.
That’s why they don’t make it far, and that’s why they eventually give up.
Fortunate for the winner, ‘someone’ better eventually shows up.
‘Someone’ that’s made all the mistakes the winner is going to make.
‘Someone’ to come and show the winner, how winning is really done.
That ‘someone’ is usually the Learner.
The Learner approaches things differently.
The Learner loves trying new things. (S)He sees it as an adventure, an opportunity to explore themselves.
The Learner doesn’t mind failing. (S)He knows it’s a part of the process —guaranteed in anything worthwhile.
For the Learner, it’s not about being better than anyone else, it’s about being better than their PREVIOUS self.
And as such, you’ll always see the Learner showing up.
Because, well, they’re ready to learn.
Sure, results are nice. Winning is nice. Being seen is nice.
The ego loves these things.
But, the Learner has learned to go deeper.
The Learner has learned to get satisfaction from learning.
It’s not that the Learner doesn’t have an ego to overcome, but that the Learner has recognized who (s)he is.
Therefore, competition isn’t important.
For the Learner, cooperation is where progress is made.
For this reason, the Learner doesn’t mind sharing.
Sharing wins. Sharing mistakes. Sharing lessons.
The Learner has learned to love the process.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
— Mahatma Gandhi