Winning The Game In Life

Below is an article about how to become winner in the game of live. I got this article from The Straits Times, October 7, 2006. Personally, I find this article very informative and inspiring.

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Sports champions know how to win and accomplish their dreams. They have learned the secrets of winning and success in sport. The mental game concepts that follow are familiar ones in the sports world. Examine these principles and laws of winning in sports and see how you can apply them in your daily life.

1. Go the extra mile
Making that extra effort can make the difference between winning and just barely losing. It means going the extra mile – when you are tired, when victory is not a guarantee, when things look bleak. Champions routinely push themselves.

2. Get it done
High achievers use this phrase constantly to display their commitment to the task at hand. They will do whatever it takes, against all odds, to succeed, once they have made the commitment to succeed.

3. The killer instinct
Champions know how to finish off a contest once a lead is established. They have no qualms about defeating the opponent. They keep their sights aimed at victory and are unrelenting as they forge ahead.

4. Raising your game
Performance level must be ratcheted up at various stages of a contest. To seize an opportunity to win, the champion digs deep and pulls up from within the all-encompassing desire to succeed that takes him to the next level.

5. Coming from behind
Champions know how to win even on a bad day. They hope for the best but also have plans for the worst. They are able to kick themselves out of the cellar and find a way to win, even if it is not pretty.

6. Playing to win
Champions are not bashful or ashamed to say that they love winning. They play positively, confidently and play like they mean it. They take bold, yet reasoned chances and believe that they will succeed.

7. Avoid “playing not to lose”
Losers or also-rans play not to lose. They play scared, they worry about making errors, they are indecisive and they doubt themselves. When they get a lead, they protect it and are fearful of losing it. Champions hate to lose than they love to win and will do everything in their power to make sure they win.

8. Avoid “protecting a lead”
Champions do not attempt to protect leads. They seek to increase leads. Also-rans try to protect a lead and lose in the process. Champions step up to the plate and go for it even more because they allow that surge of confidence to take them over and go to the next level as they increase momentum.

9. Digging deep
Champions live for those make-it or break-it pivotal moments in a contest. They compete to taste those times when only a supreme, back-breaking effort will propel them to victory. They want to have a story to tell. They want to be in a contest that is meaningful and significant and that will be remembered for a long, long time. They reach deep down inside to find the magic needed to win.

10. In the zone
High achievers know how to climb into that optimal performance zone and ride the wave of success. They know how to get in the flow and allow things to happen. They do not get in their own way and block themselves. They soar with success.

11. Getting the momentum
Peak performers understand and use momentum to their advantage. Every “contest” has momentum and the secret is to identify it and tap into it. They champion increases momentum and the chances of success by ramping up energy and by taking more risks.

12. No mind games
A true champion does not need to play mind games. He is aware of all potential mind games that various opponents may indulge in and is ready for them. The champion counters all mind games and maintains true integrity.


Champions are a different breed. Are they born this way or do they develop the attributes of winners? Whatever it is, you can learn from them, be inspired by them, use them as benchmarks and view them as role models. Just as they win the mental game of sports, you can win the mental game of life.

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When I type the sentence “be inspired by them, use them as benchmarks and view them as role models”, I realize something, all the KR raggers and their KRonos are something that inspire me when I enter KR in 19th July. Yes, they will always be my role model my benchmarks and for RAG next year. Guess extra efforts are needed to make sure that RAG next year will also surprise everyone in NUS.

Yosh, hang in there!


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