If winning is not important - but how you play the game ...

[zz000ter]

Social engineers like to educate children against the natural competitive tendencies.

Kids want to compete and win - but teachers tell them that how you play the game is more important than winning and determines the "true winners" in life.

If winning is not important - then why do so many people care about who wins games in the Euro Cup?

What sort of conflicting messages are we sending children?

BOYCOT THE EUROP CUP
BOYCOT THE OLYMPICS

Everyone in the world is special and should get a gold medal!

[flashy_mcflash]

What in the christ?

Children playing recreational soccer should not and are not held to the same standards as professional athletes making millions. Do you really need your hand held on this?

[divx]

I play to win, but to some people they can have fun and get enjoyment value from losing, I suppose it's just a different take on things.

[rems]

If you play properly (ie giving full effort and playing within the team dynamic) then there's no shame in losing.

If you win by taking your crappy bench player and intentionally injuring the other team's best player, then that's just disgraceful.

[thelefteyeguy]

what is the real job name for social engineers

[flashy_mcflash]

what is the real job name for social engineers

The people who don't agree with z00ter, duh

[uber_shnitz]

Of course winning matters, but the point is that it's not everything. If you played a good game, you should be proud that you gave it your all. Sure, it sucks you didn't win, but in the case of kids it's also to tell them sometimes you gain something even if you don't win. In the case of sports for example, you're having fun wiht your friends, you're exercising, you're sharpening your skills etc.

So the point is not to teach you that winning doesn't matter, but that it's not the only thing. We're naturally competitive creatures because we were programmed to fight over scarce resources where it's live or die, but this natural tendency shouldn't apply to necessarily everything we undertake in life. Yes, it's good to be competitive and aim for the top, but you're not going to die if you don't (unlike the original scenario where if you didn't get the food/resource you'd likely die).

[Hitman21]

Winning is important and these kids need to learn about winning and losing, What really bothers me is how some child sports leagues dont even keep track of the score and give trophies to kids for just competing. This is wrong, kids must learn that there will be losses in life and this doesn't prepare them for the future.

[divx]

Of course winning matters, but the point is that it's not everything. If you played a good game, you should be proud that you gave it your all. Sure, it sucks you didn't win, but in the case of kids it's also to tell them sometimes you gain something even if you don't win. In the case of sports for example, you're having fun wiht your friends, you're exercising, you're sharpening your skills etc.

So the point is not to teach you that winning doesn't matter, but that it's not the only thing. We're naturally competitive creatures because we were programmed to fight over scarce resources where it's live or die, but this natural tendency shouldn't apply to necessarily everything we undertake in life. Yes, it's good to be competitive and aim for the top, but you're not going to die if you don't (unlike the original scenario where if you didn't get the food/resource you'd likely die).

absolutely, you want to give your best and try to win, but if that's not enough then don't be disheartened.

[UrbanPoet]

They only do that for little kids... So that they can have fun and be happy.
Common... They're little kids.
In high school and up... Thats a different story. At that point most people slowly transition into the real world...

[ji2o0k]

Winning is everything, losing is not an option...

If someone says otherwise, well they must always lose then.....lol!

[rems]

Winning is everything, losing is not an option...

If someone says otherwise, well they must always lose then.....lol!

If losing isn't an option then shouldn't everyone be winning?

[Psubs]

They only do that for little kids... So that they can have fun and be happy.
Common... They're little kids.
In high school and up... Thats a different story. At that point most people slowly transition into the real world...

Highschool is too late. Ages 3-6 is fine. Around 7-8, when kids start to strive for marks, they should strive for winning in sports.

[uber_shnitz]

Like I said, it's fine to tell kids to aim to win, the "saying" is more to teach them how to cope with losing which IMO is just as important because like it or not, in life you'll win some and lose some and I think lots of people fail pretty bad at dealing with losing and we end up with whining self-entitled people.

I don't believe in reforms that make it so "nobody loses". The whole point of the saying "it's not about winning but how you play" is to teach people about coping wiht failure and losing and teach them it exists but that it's not the end of the world.

[sylpherware]

What really bothers me is how some child sports leagues dont even keep track of the score and give trophies to kids for just competing. This is wrong, kids must learn that there will be losses in life and this doesn't prepare them for the future.

They don't keep track because, 1. there are no scouts at those games, and 2. nobody put those "accomplishments" on their resume anyway.

If you're too focused on winning, then often you'd lose sight of the bigger picture. You don't have to win every battle in life to come up on top.