It’s Not About Winning: Why Expectations and Integrity Don’t Jive

 

“Winning without Integrity”

The more fixated we are on our winning the more challenging it becomes to live with integrity. The problem with expectations is that most often they are aligned with an external outcome, not a standard that we hold ourselves to. The primary difference here is that we can control our choices and actions, but not the result. When our expectations center around a pre-defined outcome, or “winning”, we are setting ourselves up for failure and/or a loss of integrity. A healthy ambition to win must be balanced with a set of principles that come first.

So what happens when our lofty expectations lead to an intense focus on winning? Obsession. When we become obsessed with winning, it is only a matter of time before we lose perspective and abandon our integrity. Greed comes to mind, and we all know how dangerous greed is.  Have you ever accomplished something only to realize that you aren’t any happier for it? It’s very possible that on some level your integrity was compromised without you being consciously aware of it.

Integrity is not about results, it’s about how you acted. You take the action because it is right, because you believe in it, and because your values demand it. The result is out of your control, but your action is not. Positive results absolutely do follow integrity in the long run, but a critical distinction lies in where your focus is.

For those of you that care deeply about winning and success (Who doesn’t right? I still struggle with this concept myself, being raised to value competition) and are unable to let go of expectations, think of it this way……..John Wooden, the greatest college basketball coach of all time, is known for many things, but one in particular. He taught his players to play the game to the best of their ability, and focus on performing the fundamentals, not the scoreboard. And did he achieve success and winning? More so than anyone in history. The great success of Coach John Wooden wasn’t because he obsessed over  winning; it was because he didn’t. The scoreboard is merely a result of how hard you played and how well you executed the game plan and the fundamentals.