Zero sum games have been on my mind recently.

In my athletic career everything felt like a zero sum game and for good reason. One team would win and someone would lose. There was a clear scoreboard. A clear game. And a clear set of rules.

I don’t have that anymore. It sucks

It has taken a long time for me to adopt a new mindset. Zero sum games create an intense sense of competition and a clear motivation. If you do X you will get Y result. Y result was always the same. Winning. The process involved hard work. But the ultimate goal was clear. Win.

Now in what we will call the “real world” zero sum games become significantly more complex.

The playing field is vast and if you pivot within the lane you are in for your career you find yourself playing a new sport. The definition of winning changes. Zero sum becomes confusing

Early on I found myself HATING others for their success. I was in a zero sum mindset. Since they won I had lost. How crazy is that? In many cases we weren’t even playing the same game. I was defining my life on a binary scale. I hadn’t realized the introduction of new variables.

I now realize that zero sum games are useful but not everything.

While the construct and lessons of winning and losing has been responsible for many of the successes in my life I am working on shifting my perspective.

I am now focused on building and can be collaborative.

On my road to recovery from being a winner only I am trying to best understand the ways that bolstering others can aid not only my own success but the success of those around me. In the recent instances where this has worked I have never been more fulfilled.

I look forward to improving on this in the future. And most importantly not necessarily needing to “win” along the way