Growing up, I was never on the winning team. I never won a basketball championship. I was never on the best baseball team. I didn't win contests at school. The whole illusion of winning was an oasis just waiting to tease its waters in my metaphoric desert (that sounds dirty, sorry).
Since growing up (some), things have turned in a more favorable direction. There have been the occasional "wins" here and there (most easily marked by my profession of advertising and the many award shows/magazines that showcase what judges consider to be good).
But over the past two years, I've experience more career wins than I ever expect to relive for the rest of my life. I'll be honest with you, I know a good thing when I see it. I'd just rather bask in the glow for a while than expect more of it to happen.
Please indulge my ego for 15 seconds while I recount the wins over the past 24-ish months:
Thanks.
Lots of work-related stuff there. Almost all of it, in fact. Which isn't a bad thing. Not by a long shot.
And, I'm very proud of every single one of those moments. Unlike a blog post that I wrote a year ago, I can tell you my exact reaction and thought process when each one of those occurred. You see, I like winning. Whether it's a simple $1 bet, a game of Star Wars Monopoly, a highly contested game of softball, or a pitch for business – I want to win. I want to succeed. I want to know that I can accomplish what I've set my mind to.
But winning isn't everything. At least, not on the scale of events or items that are listed above.
A win can be, can mean, so much more than an accolade on a resumé. A win can be, can mean, so much more than holding your chin up high when looking at another group of individuals. A win can be so simple, so trivial to many, that we will overlook it.
It begs the question, "why don't we celebrate those personal wins?" Why don't we hold these smaller wins in the same regard as our "bigger" wins? I say they're the same. No win on the above list is greater than any of my personal wins. Not a chance. The "bigger" wins are easier for a large group to digest. The more we get personal, the more people will either bow out or ignore. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of ignoring them.
So, here are some of my greatest wins over the past two weeks (in no order whatsoever):
I won't put a single one of those things on my resumé. Nor do I want to. Those are wins for me and the people that I experienced them with.
From now on, I'm going to try and celebrate (at least with acknowledgement) even the most "trivial" wins in my world. I choose to do that because if I spend a majority of my time waiting for the next big categorical win to occur, then I'll just be overlooking some of the most important things.
And if I overlook them, that's when the aliens win. No one wants the aliens to win.
+ original post date: June 8, 2011 07:25 AM
+ categories: All About Seth
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Or the terrorists.
+ author: d
+ posted: June 8, 2011 12:41 PM
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