The Difference Between the Mindset of a Competitor and a Winner
There is a major difference between the mindset of a winner vs. the mindset of a competitor. The mindset of a winner is one that thinks they must always win and winning is the most important thing above all. For winners, the competition doesn’t matter as a win is a win is a win. Winners don’t care if the competition is easy. In fact, the easier the better. Even a forfeit would be more desirable than risking the chance of not winning.
On the other hand, the mindset of a competitor is one who wants to find out where they stand against the toughest competition. Moreover, with a competitor’s mindset, winning matters, but who you win against matters more. Winning against easy competition gives someone with a competitor’s mindset no joy. Indeed, losing in a tough hard-fought battle would please a competitor more than winning against easy competition.
John Wooden has a great quote that perfectly explains this mindset of a competitor versus someone who just likes to win. Wooden states:
You are in the presence of a true competitor when you observe that he or she is indeed getting the most joy out of the most difficult circumstances. The real competitors love a tough situation. That’s when they focus better and function better. At moments of maximum pressure, they want the ball.
As a final point, remember the root word in competence is compete. Competence is both a process and an outcome. Competence is knowing what to do, knowing how to do it, and then doing it efficiently. If this is the focus of one’s mindset instead of focusing on just winning, you are far more likely to get the outcome you ultimately desire.