Coach Andrew Harrington

Growing up in a big family, pretty much everything was a competition. Having fun was a competition, waking up was a competition, eating was a competition, being the favorite kid was a competition. That led to me growing up to be a very competitive person. I do not like to lose, and if you have seen me lose, you know that.

When I got to high school, I may not have been good enough to see much action in the sports that I played, but I wanted to win a heck of a lot more than some of my classmates that were out there playing the game. When I got to college I would leave just about every intramural flag football game with a bloody lip and an intense headache because I was not afraid to lay my body on the line to protect my quarterback. That mentality helped us win the championship game.

Then you become an adult. You run out of things that give you the same rush. There’s a bit of competition in some jobs, but it’s not like I’m stepping into the boxing ring and trying to go the distance against Apollo Creed once a week for the heavyweight championship.

The first thing anyone naturally tries is competing against themselves. You should obviously want to be a better version of yourself today than you were yesterday. Eventually, that gets old. Recently, I found that motivation I was looking for. I did some reading about why some people need to win and why some people can brush off a loss more easily than me. After reading through dozens of pages about how people should develop a growth mindset and appreciate small wins, two things that just are not in the cards for me even if they are healthy ways to think, I found the real answer. When your life changes, you need to redefine what winning looks like.

For me, winning can mean a number of things. Providing articles that are informative, interesting and important to thousands of people in the community really does mean something to me. Fitting those three categories with the things I write each week is a win. Being proud of that work when the week is said and done is a win of its own. Unfortunately, I cannot define what winning is for you. I know for a fact people struggle with the same thing I have wrestled with, but redefining that winning is up to you.

Still exploring options on that boxing offer, though.