Competitive Challenge and Processing the Outcomes

No one wants to be a loser. Who would want that label? Are you facing a competitive challenge and are feeling a little nervous about the potential outcome?

You’re not alone.

People face challenges of various types every day. It may be a challenge to get motivated, it may be to get through traffic without road rage, or it may be an attempt to gain buy-in from the committee on your new idea.

There are other challenges too. Like, closing the sale, getting hired, or coping with a significant setback or failure.

The loser label is a significant fear. Your pride, your hard work, the embarrassment and the insults, no one wants it.

Facing the outcomes in a competitive situation can be tough.

Reality of Outcomes

You’re not always going to close the sale, you won’t always get buy-in from others, and, sometimes you won’t be the selected candidate for the job.

Most people feel like they can accept one or two losses. Even in professional sports, perfect records are very rare.

It is often the stacking that gets people down.

Like a stacked pile of books sitting on the floor, as the stack gets taller, the weight and pressure get progressively worse. Some books may suffer from damage or get crushed.

The stacking of problems, feelings of rejection, and the sometimes self-imposed labels hurt.

There are lots of ways to get out from under the stack.

One way is to quit. Which brings up another label, quitter.

For many things in life, there is a time to move on. Forget any labels. There is a time. However, that doesn’t mean it is this time.

Competitive Challenge

Better candidates do appear, the committee doesn’t always like the proposal, and losing the sale to the competition does suck.

The best thing is to pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and analyze your efforts and results.

Was there personal improvement? Did you really put in the right kind of effort to be successful? Did you self-defeat, lack appropriate confidence, or illustrate a beaten down persona?

What about the homework? Did you do it? Including the research, proof reading your work, and asking the right questions?

Even if you feel like you did everything right, the outcome still may not be what you wanted.

It might be about timing, or maybe they just don’t know you.

Maybe they don’t realize how persistent you are, how hard you’ll work, or the tremendous pressure you will endure.

It’s never over until you say.

Sometimes the most competitive challenge is with yourself. Keep building, keep growing, and stay persistent.

I don’t think it’s over.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.