Winning and Losing is part of life. We do our best and very well understand that results are not just dependant on our actions. Circumstances play a big role. And sometimes in spite of best efforts we don’t succeed and even lose out to someone else. The problem is not losing, it is the fear of losing.

Fear of losing blocks our imagination. We tend to be over cautious, walk the beaten path and always look at securing ourselves. It doesn’t mean we should be reckless and throw caution to the wind. There are options and opportunities that we do not explore because we fear we will not succeed. But sometimes breakthrough solutions and value creation is built when we dare to try something different.

So what does it take for us to drop the fear of losing?

We need to have a plan and believe in it. It doesn’t matter others cannot see what we can visualise in our mind’s eye. If the thought is strong and repeatedly presenting itself, we must find the courage to follow it. We must learn to trust ourselves. Self doubt breeds fear.

We will make mistakes. We must be ready for that. If we learn how to learn from our mistakes, then they are nothing but stepping stones to success.

We need to create openings and opportunities for ourselves. Sometimes opportunities present themselves, but that should not be our default, that we just wait for the right one to come by. We need to learn to be proactive.

We need to keep asking the question – ‘What if I try this?’. This pattern of thinking constantly keeps us alert, thinking and exploring. Freshness of ideas keeps us energised, enthusiastic and motivated.

But most of all we need to realise that our growth does not lie in few successes. It lies in allowing the vitality of our imagination to express itself. A great chef is never satisfied with cooking few dishes well. She tries different ideas all the time, knowing very well, some recipes won’t taste as good, but till she doesn’t keep innovating, the great dish won’t present itself.

We can live as a big frog in a small well. Or we can explore the thrill and vastness of the world. And we don’t have to go too far. We need to just drop our fear of losing and unleash the vastness of our imagination.

(Picture – A housewarming gift from a dear friend, now nicely sitting in our garden)