You often think that winning means some reward, whether a monetary reward or a trophy or recognition or something material.
So if you are not getting any of those rewards, you consider that you failed. But is it really true that if you don’t receive any material or tangible reward, then it means failure? Is it really a good way to measure success, or is it something else as well?
Of course, you will not get a tangible reward in the first attempt in most cases.
- Your first book may not be a best seller.
- Your first app might not earn a million dollars.
- Your first relationship may not be your last relationship.
So does that mean you gained nothing from your first book, first app, or first relationship?
If you look closely, you did gain something. Actually, a lot more than something, and that is going to benefit you in the next step of your journey.
You will not succeed always; your product will not be the best always; you will not get what you want always. But if you keep the tangible rewards aside, you will always learn something from your failure, you will always build resilience from the hard work you put in, and you will always build habits that will carry forward.
From this angle, you’re always building a part of yourself that will help you later, no matter what you’re doing or going through.
- Your first job might not be your dream job, but what you learn in that job will definitely help you land your dream job.
- Your first relationship will not end up in marriage, but it helped you to learn more about yourself and your behaviour and what you can use in your next relationship that might end in your marriage.
- Your first business might not give you what you want, but it will give you the confidence that will help in your next move, and eventually you will get what you want.
The real reward is the journey, and you often forget that and focus on the destination, and this creates stress and anxiety and takes the fun out of the process.
You are attaching your identity with the reward, and if you don’t get the reward, then you consider that you lost it, but that’s not true.
The journey itself is proof that you are a winner. It is proof that you are moving forward and still fighting for what you want.