Why We Need To Be Ok Finishing Second

We learn so much more from second place than we do from finishing first.

Although I am all about finishing first in everything in life, I often time feel that more lessons are learned from finishing in second rather than in first.

Here are three lessons which can be learned from finishing in second:

Critical Feedback

A Greater Desire To Win

A New Level of Growth In Other Areas Of Life

Let me explain….

Critical Feedback

Too often in life we forget how important necessary critical feedback can be. Finishing a race in second place or finishing in a runner up position within a competition can give us specific thoughts about how we could have won first place. For example, in 2016 I finished second in an obstacle course race in Lloydminster, SK. After realizing I had finished second I thought about specific feedback from different parts of the race that could have allowed me to take first had we raced a second time. I knew exactly what I had to do to win. Finishing in third, fourth or fifth wouldn’t have allowed me to focus in on specific critical feedback to win. There would have been too many variables.

A Greater Desire To Win

“If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”- Michael Jordan

If you want to win, finish second first. I can’t emphasize this enough. Not only did finishing second in that race light the fire to win, but it also lifted my confidence that; with just a few tweaks, I could be a Champion. The same holds true in life. If you are on a team and you finish second you will often hear players speak about how the other team just had more in the tank. Or that the other team just did everything a bit better than them. Oftentimes, in the following season, that same team is back in the hunt again to be Champions in their leagues.

The same is true in life. If you finish second to the job you are really wanting, what better time to ‘retweak’ your resume, practice your story and hone your communication skills just a bit more to be first in the interview next time.

A New Level Of Growth

Finishing second births new growth in different areas of your life; even if you don’t initially see it or feel it. Perfect example, when I finished second in my OCR race, months following I found myself becoming a much better employee in my job. I was more diligent, confident, organized and resilient. Those skills were learned as a result of my specific critical feedback that I learned from that race. My professional life improved because my racing life was being tweaked to become a Champion. What was done in shorts translated to who I was becoming in a suit.

Amazing growth!

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My encouragement for you today is this.

Welcome second place in your life.

Don’t get angry if you finish second at something. Second is only a loss if you choose to learn no lessons from it. Make sure to harness your emotions, think about how you could become even greater for next time and start taking steps towards becoming a Champion in your field. Be aware that the changes you make in that area in becoming a Champion will translate over into other areas of your life as well. Embrace second to eventually become first.

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This post was previously published on Medium.com.

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