Winning is everything

From when I was a kid I was always taugh that playing is more important that winning. This was with reference to games & sports. It was always more important to take part in a game or a sport, enjoy it as much as you could without worrying about winning.

I used to play badminton. I played my first school tournament at the age of 9 which I lost. The next year I played again... and lost again. When I was 11 I reached the finals but lost yet again. All the years that I lost I smiled at my opponent, shook hands with her and vowed to myself that I would perform better next year. After all how many years can I lose ? - Finally a few years later I did win. I won fairly. I never played dirty. I played straight and I won. I was the happiest kid that day. That was then.

This is now.

I applied the same rules to my professional life. When I started working I was idealistic. I always played by the rules and was always fair to people I worked with and the company too.

What I found over the years is that work is not a 'fair' game. I have seen so many cases where a more deserving person did not get a promotion and a less deserving one did not get one. 'Workplace politics'. A wonderful game. To win this game you have to be cunning, deceitful and a liar. In this game winning is everything.

I was never taught the above 'traits'. I was happy doing what I was doing and I still am and I still don't get involved in workplace politics. The lesson I learnt as a kid still prevails. I hope it doesn't ever change. Winning is definitely not everything. Playing fair is...