Limiting Belief #5: Winning is the Only Acceptable Outcome

We’re in this to win.

That’s obvious.

The problem is, you can’t control whether you win or not.

And although I think you know this, I don’t think you accept it.

I see so many attorneys desperately attached to winning at trial that when they lose...it knocks them off their game.

When I was wrestling with an issue in my life years ago, my coach told me something I’ll never forget. She said, “The goal is to be 100% committed and 100% unattached.” It’s ok to want to win. But you need to detach from whether it happens or not.

Here’s why:

1. As I mentioned, you can’t control whether you win or not.  The 12, 8 or 6 individuals in the box determine that. It’s utterly pointless to be attached to an outcome you can’t control. Which brings us to the second point:
2. Winning occurs in the future. When you’re attached to an outcome that occurs in the future, it takes you out of the present moment where you have the most power. Instead of fretting over whether you’ll win or not, spend your time focusing on what you can do NOW.  
3. Finally, what you think gets communicated. If you’re so focused on winning, you’ll definitely communicate it to jurors. In their minds, that’s all you’re about anyway. You’ll lie, cheat and steal in order to win. Do you really want to add to a juror’s preconceived ideas of who you are?​

Let go of the idea that winning is the only acceptable outcome. Instead, focus your energy on doing the best job possible and you might just find that winning takes care of itself.