On the Meaning of a "Winner"

To some people, winning means the world to them. To some people, winning is as addictive as heroin, and gives a similar euphoric effect. To some people, winning means that they are simply the best, and they deserve to be treated as such. To these people, losing means misery, the chronic illnesses caused by heroin abuse, and the feeling like they are not good enough and deserve to be treated as such. The meaning of a winner to people such as this has been morphed and twisted beyond recognition. To be a winner, triumph over everyone else is not necessarily required, and moreover, if defeating other competitors is required, a real winner will not desire to be treated any differently, for if they do, they are the real loser in the matter. They also should not become depressed by a mere loss or setback, but take everything in stride, and get ready for their next opportunity. Being a winner involves two characteristics, giving enough effort to the point that the competitor becomes proud of themselves, and being humble in the event that some sort of contest with other competitors is won.

The essence of contest is proving that you are the best to everyone else, or is it? Perhaps the real purpose of competition lies not in the fact that by winning you prove your superiority in skill, but in simply bettering yourself through adversity. That adversity does not necessarily have to be another human being, but the competitor themself. By simply showing that he or she is better than before, the competitor proves that they are improving, which seems to be a need of us as humans. In truth, a tangible reward may be nice, but in the end such a trophy will merely sit on a shelf and gather dust. Rather than compete to prove superiority, we should compete to make ourselves better, for that is the true reason we compete, or rather should compete.

Unfortunately, I find that I can fall into the category of people mentioned at the beginning of this post. However, I do my best to keep my words humble as well as my demeanor. Therefore, I try not to keep track of my past winnings, no matter how great. Trust me, this preventative action is for the best; otherwise I would probably be bragging your ears off (perhaps eyes because you are reading...)

The definition of winning can come in far too many forms to give one specific definition, but a winner stays the same thought them all. He or she is not just the one person that came out on top in the end, but also the one that did not proclaim their victory to the world nor did they obsess over their loss should one come their way. A winner is a type of person, the type that takes life as life comes, and chooses not to foolishly gloat or wallow in their success. Or that is what I choose to believe anyway.