Today's Dose of Smile-Therapy

Reframing the Definition of ‘Winning’
(thanks to Helen D for this)
 
Wally Green, a young ping pong player from the projects of Brooklyn, tells a story in interviews about being the only American to ever compete in a North Korean ping pong tournament.

The skills of the North Koreans were so superior to Wally's that he never even imagined winning a game. To maintain his confidence, he decided to reframe what "winning" looked like—if he could score just one point on a higher-ranked opponent, he considered it a win.

Although he would eventually be outscored 2 to 15, in his mind he'd already won after scoring his first point and the rest of the game was practice. As he improved, Wally kept reframing success. Next, two points became a win. Then three points, and so on, until he could win an entire 15-point match.

Which initiates this question for us readers: In what areas of work or life can we redefine success according to our current ability, and view "losing" as simply valuable and necessary practice for improvement?