In the world today being a WINNER is a sign of success.  On the other hand, if somebody fails or is unproductive in our society he or she is marked as being unsuccessful. But most people are somewhere in between winning and losing and end up by winning in some areas of their lives and not so much so in others. However, victory is the ultimate factor for most of us and we tend to live and die by it.

The taste of victory is sweet and there are many advantages of winning in a competition oriented society like ours. We only realize this when we taste the fruits of winning. These may include amongst others ….

• Feeling motivated and better about yourself
• Being popular and admired
• Improving our level of confidence
• Being respected and admired

Remember that in order to be a winner you need to be very focused and goal oriented. Winners make a decision and decide what they want to achieve, then, focus on what they require to do in order to achieve it.

Another key difference between a winner and loser is the language they use to describe what they are thinking and feeling. The words we use not only express what we are feeling and thinking but they also influence our thought processes. Winners use words which have a positive impact and make them more successful while on the other hand losers tend to use words with a negative connotation which have an even greater negative impact on their lives.

The main thing is that winning is good, can have a positive impact on your life and be beneficial in many ways. Some tips to increase your chances of becoming a winner are :

1. ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY : In order to be successful one has to take responsibility for what one does in life – there is no room for excuses. A winner holds themselves responsible for what happens in their life and they do not blame others or circumstances for what happens. They feel in control of their destiny and also responsible for the ensuring results. As said by Abraham Lincoln “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today “.
2. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE : The prime reason for failure is procrastination. A winner will not try to put things off to a later date; instead will focus on getting things done as soon as possible. They also value their time and try to utilize every moment of their time. So do not put thing off but try to get things done as soon as possible. In doing so you don’t just reduce your stress levels but you gain timeto do other things to reach your goal.
3. BE READY TO LEARN : Always be on the look out to learn new things and challenge yourself, be it at work or in other areas of your life. Never sit back and be satisfied that you know it all but in fact understand that ”Knowledge is power”. In order to win in life, knowledge is literally powerand the more you know the better prepared you will be to deal with any challenge you may have to face.
4. BE GOAL ORIENTED : In order to be successful you have to know where you are headed. In the same manner you cannot win a race if you do not have an idea of where to go. Having a goal in mind gives you a direction and in order to win you need to have a target in front of you. So make goal setting second nature and learn to work towards something rather than just working without any aim. A winner will always be very goal oriented and decide on what they want. Once they do so they will then do what is required in order to achieve the goal .
5. FOCUS : Keep a strong focus on what you want to achieve. Do not let your level of focus weaken at any point of time as focus is key to accomplish success and provides you with a base to build upon your success. By concentrating all your thoughts in one direction and on the work you are doing you will achieve victory.
6. MANAGE YOUR TIME : In order to win you need to be productive and manage your time wisely. By making the most of your available time you learn to be more productive. We all know that our life is limited and every moment we have is very precious. So learn to manage your time to your best ability and do not waste any moment of it. Always remember that time is very valuable.
7. HARD WORK : At the end it all comes down to hard work. In order to win, the more effort you can put in, the better your chances of success are. By increasing your efforts at whatever you are doing you will greatly increase your chances of being successful. Winners always put in their best efforts and never run away from hard work. They are keen to succeed and yearn for victory. Hard work and determination can get you anything in life.

We tend to waste our time comparing ourselves to others and wishing to be something we are not. Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses and it is only when we accept what we are – that we truly succeed.