Ten strategies for winning the game of life.
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We are all players on the football field of life, however, to score a winning goal; you have to be fully present on the field. Showing up in your life means you are not a spectator on the sidelines just waiting for life to happen to you. Instead, it’s you making life happen! When you are fully engaged in the game of proactively, dreaming big, and taking calculated risk, you also tend to score big.
You may need to employ new strategies to ensure the winning score.
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Whether or not you are a fan of football, there are fundamental life and business truths to be extracted from the game. If you want to guarantee a winning score in your life this season, these ten lessons will give you a great kick-off.
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1. The Second Half is the best part of the game because this is when the game is won.
Whether this translates to the second half of your life or the second half of the year, this is where you either win or lose. There is now a greater sense of urgency to get that goal in. Players put in extra effort to hit the home run and scoop the trophy, creating a different type of energy on the field altogether.
2. You will find that your opponents will also try to push harder during this period.
Some players can bite, backbite or try to cause pain in your life. But, you don’t need to worry about this resistance. Zig Ziglar says, “the only taste of success that some people will have is if they get a bite out of you.” Keep playing anyway. Opponents also come in the form of obstacles, distractions and discouragements. This is the time to sink your teeth in the game, resolve that you will not give up, and play even harder. The temptation sometimes is to become complacent and think you have more time, allowing procrastination to rear its ugly head. Instead, give it all you’ve got and swim against the tide of mediocrity.
3. You may need to employ new strategies to ensure the winning score.
Be adaptable to change and keep learning new ways to approach the same problem. Stop what doesn’t work and do more of what does. Sometimes your “stop doing” list needs to be longer than your “to do” list. Subscribe to continuous improvement because you cannot keep using antiquated methods and still expect to win in life or business.
4. During life’s game, there will be occasions where you have to call for “injury time.”
This shows that you have not given up but rather just need to rest, take a back seat and rejuvenate before you get back in the game. Don’t let this be for too long though, remember if you leave a garden un-tendered for a while, the weeds start to take over. Scheduled rest is an important part of winning.
5. Referees can sometimes make decisions that are unfair to your team for instance penalty kicks or red/yellow cards in favour of your opponents.
Life is not always fair, but keep playing anyway. It is not what happens to you that matters, it’s how you respond to what happens to you. Play on in spite of any disadvantages.
6. Even if you seem to be losing against your opponents, don’t walk off the pitch before the whistle blows.
You still have a chance even in the last five minutes to score that goal. Finish what you start. Honor the game to win or lose with dignity and respect, having given it your best shot. True losing is when you don’t learn from your experience because sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn. After you have fallen or been pushed down, just rise back up again.
7. You can sometimes score an “own goal.”
Some business and relationship deals can put you at a significant loss, despite the fact that you gave it your all. At times, it may be your fault if you haven’t done your due diligence, and on other occasions you may fall prey to deception from a greedy associate who only cares about their benefit. This is what taking risks is all about. I have been through this. Take the shot anyway and if it doesn’t work out, learn and move on.
8. Instinct and the ability to make quick decisions are excellent traits of winners.
While on the field of life, relying on instinct and not always rationale can bring you a winning score.
I hope this serves you well for the remaining half of the year.
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9. Focus your efforts on what is within your control, not the outcome.
Sometimes the outcome and big picture can be so overwhelming that it keeps you from doing anything at all. Breaking down the outcome into smaller manageable tasks is a surer way of scoring your ultimate goal. Discipline and consistent practice behind the scenes inevitably pays off.
10. Finally, Celebrate success!
Each winning score is celebrated as well as the ultimate goal. Celebrate the smaller goals you set and win for yourself because when you look back, you will realize that the little things are the big things.
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I hope this serves you well for the remaining half of the year. If anything that it inspires you to put on a brand new pair of lenses the next time you watch or hear about football.
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This article originally appeared on Success Gravity.com.
Photo: Flickr/ Kari
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