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Winning is not everything and it definitely is not the only thing.


Kids are not always interested in winning. It is we adults who instill in them the importance of winning. We teach them that winning is not everything, it's the only thing. We have blinders put on us because of which we dont see that kids get so much joy while participating, practising and playing.
The French coach, Arsene Wenger once famously said, " At a young age winning is not the most important thing...the important thing is to develop creative and skilled players with good confidence."

One Saturday morning while sipping my piping hot cup of tea in the terrace of my home, I saw a mum playing with her two kids in the garden. Probably twins as both were of the same age. She was teaching them to race. To run when she says go and touch their dads hand. She was trying to tell them that the one who reaches first and touches their dads hand first is the winner. Both the toddlers were too young to understand the nitty gritties of the game, still they nodded their heads in agreement. When the mum said go, both of them started running. Mid way in the race one of the kids stopped and bent down to check something. I guess he saw some colourful pebbles and forgot all about the race. He bent and squatted to collect some beautiful pebbles. His twin sister was just about to finish the race when she turned around to see why their mom was shouting and calling out her brothers name. She saw what her brother was doing and turned around , and to the horror of her mom, instead of finishing the race she decided that her brother needed her help. She ran towards her brother and bent down to help in the task of collecting those pebbles which might be ordinary to us adults. However they were not adults. They were collecting those colourful stones with such fervour and amusement that it left me to think why do we focus so much on winning? Why can't we just enjoy in the joy of participating?

We are so much focused on winning that we lose all our innocence and it robs us of our creativity too. The next time you see your child picking up a pebble, join him and see where it goes. It will be so much fun and who knows, it might take you on a journey you have never imagined before, ideas you would have never thought before. As adults we always want to be correct and proper and precise. We don't want to go wrong, we are afraid of failure, we are scared to ask questions for we think they might be silly.

We should try to learn from our kids. To not fret and fuss over small matters. To relax and enjoy every moment like there is no tomorrow. To incessantly ask questions as no question is silly. Let the kid inside you awaken so that you enjoy the moment, and not think so much about winning and losing. Being mindful and following mindfulness is not as difficult as we think it is. If we practise it daily little by little, we shall achieve it more and more and be at peace even if we lose.

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