Playing to win vs playing not to lose

Oct 16th, 2023

personal

After encountering multiple articles on the playing-to-win vs. playing-not-to-lose mindset, I was hooked on the idea. Playing to win and playing not to lose appeared to be the same thing, I realized they are not. I also realized that my mindset matches the not-to-lose paradigm. This post summarises what I’ve learned and some steps I will take to move towards a playing-to-win mindset.

It’s crucial to understand the disparities between these two mindsets. They affect how we approach challenges, set goals, and ultimately determine our success.

Response to Failure:

• Playing to Win: Those embracing this mindset see failure as an invaluable learning opportunity. They recognize that setbacks are stepping stones toward success.
• Playing Not to Lose: This approach treats failure as the ultimate catastrophe to be avoided at all costs. The fear of failure can lead to inaction, hindering progress.

Strategy and Innovation:

• Playing to Win: This mindset encourages innovation, aggressive tactics, and adaptability. It’s focused on growth and expansion, making it more likely to achieve remarkable success.
• Playing Not to Lose: In contrast, the “playing not to lose” approach emphasizes stability and error minimization, often at the expense of innovation. The primary goal is to protect existing resources.

Risk Tolerance:

• Playing to Win: Those playing to win are willing to take calculated risks, knowing that these risks can lead to substantial rewards. They are proactive in their pursuit of success.
• Playing Not to Lose: Playing not to lose is characterized by risk aversion. Those following this approach tend to avoid risks that might lead to failure or loss.

My understanding is that playing to win vs. playing not to lose is another manifestation of growth vs. fixed mindset (and I talk a lot about growth mindset; see Mindset (Book Notes), Best of self-help lessons).

Playing-not-to-lose promotes inaction over action. If we want to avoid failure at all costs, it’s better not to attempt the task rather than try and fail (which is a better outcome). The issue here is that losing feels fatal and winning, in comparison, doesn’t feel that great. That means the goals we are setting for ourselves are too conservative. The default outcome for the goal is success, which is why failing is catastrophically bad. If we seek tougher goals (where the likely outcome is a loss), the loss wouldn’t hurt terribly. So, one way to grow out of this mindset is to set more challenging goals for ourselves. Most efforts would lead to failure, so it’s only worth trying to win. Everything else is a loss (including inaction)

References

https://www.basketballispsychology.com/post/playing-to-win-vs-playing-not-to-lose

https://www.ivyxu.com/blog/play-to-win-dont-play-to-not-lose