This post is rated Sprinters, Olympians and Ironman.

In this day and age it seems as if everyone is out to win. We are wonderful promoters of ourselves and regularly project our highlight reels to various social media platforms.

Behind every win though is a loss. I recently listened to a message by one of the pastors at Northpoint Church in Atlanta entitled “Choose to Lose.” The 35 minute talk was powerful and I highly encourage you to listen in your own time. The premise of the message is that no one likes to lose, period. We move at such a breakneck pace  pursuing the win that we do not seem to notice the areas of our life that get neglected.

We are going to lose, there just isn’t any way around it. We do have the option of choosing what it is we want to lose. In the moment the loss might seem unbearable, but in the long run it will lead to an even greater win.

Remaining consistent with the theme of this blog, why don’t we apply this concept to the upcoming season of triathlon, marathon or swimming meets? At the heart of every event is competition. It is what moves us and keeps us training to become better each day. We all want to win when it comes to the 2014 season. Whatever your personal goals may be this year, ask yourself “what will have to happen this season for me to sit down in December look back and be content with my results?” Not only that, go ahead and choose what you will lose along the way.

Some examples of things you might choose to lose could include sleep, social events, or sweets. These are wonderful things, but they are not necessarily compatible with your best performances this season. These are only a few things that came to mind, the main question that I want you to reflect upon is:

“What will I choose to lose, in pursuit of THE WIN?”