Recently, I’ve found myself talking a lot about “moral victories” – victories that are found in the remnants of a loss that are highlighted in order to make the person, team, or organization feel better about the fact that they lost. For instance, “victory” can sometimes be found in the mere fact that a team did better than expected or simply were not embarrassed. The one thing about moral victories that I can’t get over is the requirement that you must lose in order to have one. At least that’s true when you’re talking about sports and such.
It seems to me that, in our day-to-day lives, moral victories are more a function of how we live on a daily basis than whether we win or lose. In other words, the winning and losing is more precisely defined by how you play the game rather than the final score. In life, there’s always someone better and someone that does worse. In the very rare situation in which you find yourself on top of all others, the time there will be short lived. The battle is from within, and the only winners are those that do their very best.
Wasted opportunities
Two weeks ago, I went out to visit my ski boat. The high that day was 88 degrees, and I knew it was probably the last time it would get that hot. I also knew the time change was coming, and soon it was going to be dark very early. I intended to get out early that day and make the most of it, but I didn’t get out on the boat until a little after 5 p.m. The sun was still high, and I had an hour an a half to drive around the lake.
As I watched the sun go down into the bottom of a red and yellow streaked sky, I thought about all the days this summer I wasted and missed out on the opportunity to watch the sunset from the middle of the lake. I vowed never to waste so many opportunities in the future and to maximize my time at the lake – next year.
In the end, I drove three hours to spend one and a half hours on the lake. At first glance, it seems like a bit of a waste. In retrospect, it was a glorious use of an afternoon, and for those few hours, I maximized my ability to relax. In other words, I “played” the afternoon like a champion. Without question it was a moral victory.
Every day offers to you the opportunity to have a moral victory – some will be big; some will be small. Either way, the choice of how you play is yours. Deciding to play your best every day is a good idea for everybody, especially those of us way up in the CHEAP SEATS!
Bill James is a co-founder of the James Law Firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway and Fayetteville, Ark. His primary area of practice is criminal defense. He can be contacted at Bill@JamesFirm.com