How To Win When You Lose

By Billi Lim October 2000

Lately we can see how the mantra of "Must Win" has been carried out to its peak in the U.S presidential election. Observe what the candidates would do in order to win. There was an interesting question that arisesout of all these - what would Nixon do if he was one of the candidates?

The glory of just to win seems to outweigh all else - even to the extent of having the country being divided. They seem to have forgotten what the Immortal Lincoln once said, "A country divided will never stand".

Why can’t a person accept losing graciously? Do we actually lose when we lost? Some may argue that in politics it’s different - if you lose now, you may not have the chance next time.

Let’s look at it from another angle. Whoever loses in the current U.S election would already have won - if they are willing to accept losing that is. Why? Both the winner and loser will go down in history in this most extra-ordinary election. This is something that even other Presidents who ‘won’ may not have. If you don’t believe me, name me the 5^th. President of the United States? The 9^th President? The 18^th. President? Who?

But I’m sure you can remember Robert F Kennedy, the man who failed to be president. You can remember Martin Luther King Jr. You can remember Ninoy Aquino. Nelson Mandela waited 27 years to be President. And President Kim Dae Jung of South Korea; he has been beaten, kidnapped, imprisoned, sentenced to death but he not only became President, he has also been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2000.

Many of us don’t understand why sometimes we have to lose. In fact sometimes to win we have to yield just like the grass yielding to the great wind. Those who can’t yield sometimes got uprooted by the great typhoon.

If we can see far into our past, we may be able to understand why sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. But alas most people today can only comprehend the life that their physical eyes can see. They can’t understand what that is beyond our physical eye.

There is a time and tide for every man. Each will have their turn. If we can be patient, the greatest loss can become our greatest gain.

It takes a real great leader to be able to accept a personal ‘loss’ in order that human kind may reach a higher level.

Also you don’t need to be a president in order that you can do something - just like what former President Carter has been doing. In fact he did more things without the position of a President than when he was a President.

May you continue to grow wiser.

Your fellow traveler in time.

BILLI LIM

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