This document discusses different attitudes towards life and relationships: win-lose, lose-win, and win-win. Win-lose has a competitive attitude where one person's gain comes at another's expense. Lose-win is weak and people take advantage. Win-win believes everyone can benefit and there is abundance for all if a cooperative approach is taken. The document provides examples and strategies for thinking win-win, including securing personal confidence and avoiding unhealthy comparison and competition with others.

1. Habit 4: Think Win-­‐‑Win
Anisha, Ava, & Mintra

2. To Think Win-­‐‑Win
• An a8itude towards life.
• A mental frame of mind that says ‘I can win.’
• The foundation for ge8ing along well with each other people.
• Begins with the belief that we are all equal, that no one is
inferior or superior to anyone else, and no one needs to be.
• Life isn’t about competition ,or ge8ing ahead of someone. But
those are merely institutions that we’ve created.
• A win-­‐‑win is not win-­‐‑lose, lose-­‐‑win, or lose-­‐‑lose.

3. Win-­‐‑Lose – The Totem Pole
• An a8itude toward life that says the pie of success is only so
big, and if you get a big piece there is less for me.
• Win-­‐‑lose is competitive.
• Its full of pride. As C.S. Lewis said, “Pride gets no pleasure out
of having something, only one having more of it than the next
man…It is the comparison that makes you proud, the pleasure
of being above the rest.
• Relationships, friendships, and loyalty are all secondary to
winning the game, being the best, and having it your way.

4. A Win-Lose Attitude Wears Many Faces
• Using
other
people,
emo0onally
or
physically,
for
your
own
selfish
purposes.
• Trying
to
get
ahead
at
the
expense
of
another.
• Spreading
rumors
about
someone
else
(as
if
pu?ng
someone
else
down
builds
you
up).
• Always
insis0ng
on
ge?ng
you
way
without
concerning
yourself
with
feelings
of
others.
• Become
jealous
or
envious
when
something
good
happens
to
someone
close
to
you.

5. • But win-­‐‑lose will usually backfire.
• Even though you are on top of the totem pole, you will just be
there alone and without any friends.
• It doesn’t ma8er if you win, you will lose in some way. Just like
how you win your way up onto the totem pole, but still lose
your friends or anyone close to you.

6. Lose-­‐‑Win – The Doormat
• Looks pre8ier on surface, but is just as dangerous an Win-­‐‑Lose.
It’s the Doormat Syndrome.
• Lose-­‐‑Win is weak.
• Easy to get stepped on.
• Easy to be the nice guy.
• Easy to give in, all in the name of being a peace-­‐‑maker.

7. • With a Lose-­‐‑Win a8itude you’ll find yourself se8ing low
expectations and compromising your standards again and
again.
• You give in the peer pressure.
• When you do something unwillingly just because the others
told you to, is a Lose-­‐‑Win. You lost by giving into them, and
they win because you did what they wanted you to.

8. Lose-­‐‑Win in Life
• If you adopt Lose-­‐‑Win as your basic a8itude towards life, then
people will wipe their dirty feet on you.
• You will be hiding your true feelings deep inside.
• Even if there are some situations where its ok the lose, on small
issues, be sure to take a stand on the important things .

9. Lose-­‐‑Lose – The Downhill Spiral
• Wars and revenge are examples of Lose-­‐‑Lose situations.
• This usually happens when two other Win-­‐‑Lose people get
together. As one of them is trying to win at all costs, and same
for the other person, they both end up losing.
• Can also occur when someone becomes obsessed with another
person in a negative way.

10. Lose-­‐‑Lose in Relationships
• Usually, boyfriend-­‐‑girlfriend relationships can sour into Lose-­‐‑
Lose.
• At first, everything seems to be going well. It starts off with
more of a Win-­‐‑Win situation.
• But gradually, they become emotionally glues and codependent.
• They begin to get possessive and jealous. They think its
necessary to constantly be together, touch each other, to feel
secure, as if they own the other person.
• Eventually, this brings out the worst in them. They start fighting
and have the need to get back at each other.

11. Win-­‐‑Win – The All-­‐‑You-­‐‑Can-­‐‑Eat Buffet
• Is a belief that everyone can win. Its both nice and tough at the same
time.
• It’s more of a “ I won’t step on you, but I won’t be your doormat
either,” type of situation.
• You want other people to succeed and you care about other people.
But at the same time, you care about yourself and want to succeed
too.
• Win-­‐‑Win is abundant.
• It’s not a ma8er of who gets more, but more of an equal share to
everyone.
• Win-­‐‑Win always creates more, like an endless buffet.
• You probably do more Win-­‐‑Win thinking than you give yourself
credit for.

12. Examples of the Win-­‐‑Win A8itude:
• You recently got a promotion at the burger joint you work at. You
share the praise and recognition with all those who helped you get
there.
• You were elected to an important school office and make up your
mind not to develop a “superiority complex.” You treat everyone the
same, including the friendless and the unpopular.
• Your best friend got accepted at the college you wanted to get into.
You didn’t make it. Although you feel terrible about your own
situation, you are genuinely happy for your friend.
• You want to go out for dinner. Your friend want to see a movie. You
jointly decide to rent a movie and pick up foot to eat at home.

13. How To Think Win-­‐‑Win
• Win the private victory first and avoid the tumor twins (comparing
and competing).
• It all begins with you.
• If you are extremely insecure and haven’t paid the price to win the
private victory, it will be difficult to think Win-­‐‑Win.
• You’ll be threatened by other people. It’ll be hard to be happy for
their successes, or to share recognition or praise.
• Insecure people get jealous very easily.
• Personal security is the foundation for thinking Win-­‐‑Win.
• With the tumor twins around, it is almost impossible to think Win-­‐‑
Win.

14. Competing
• Competition can be extremely healthy. It drives us to improve,
to reach and stretch.
• Without it, we would never know how far we could push
ourselves.
• But there is another side to competition that isn’t too nice.
• There is always a sunny side and a dark side, and both are
powerful.

15. Difference of the Two Sides:
• Competition is healthy when you compete against yourself, or
when it challenges you to reach and stretch and become your
best.
• Competition becomes dark when you tie your self-­‐‑worth into
winning or when you use it as a way to place yourself above
another.
• When competition is used as a means of creating a self-­‐‑image
relative to others, the worst in a person comes out; then the
ordinary fears and frustrations become greatly exaggerated.
• It is as if some believe that only being the best, only by being a
winner, will they be eligible for the love and respect they seek.

16. Comparing
• Comparing is competition’s twin.
• Comparing yourself to others is nothing but bad news.
• We’re all on different development timetables. Socially,
mentally, and physically.
• Life is like a great obstacle course. Each person has their own
course, separated from every other course by tall walls.
• Your course comes complete with customized obstacles
designed specifically for your personal growth.

17. • Building your life based on how you stack up compared to
others is never good footing.
• Comparing ourselves makes us feel like a wave of the sea tossed
to and back by the wind.
• We go up and down, feeling inferior one moment and superior
the next, confident one moment and intimidated the next.
• The only good comparison is comparing yourself against your
own potential.

18. The Fruits of the Win-­‐‑Win
• If you are bighearted, commi8ed to helping others succeed, and
willing to share recognition, you’ll be a magnet for friends.
• The Win-­‐‑Win spirit can be applied to any situation.
• Sometimes, its hard to find a Win-­‐‑Win solution.
• When situations like Win-­‐‑Lose happen, don’t get ugly yourself
or don’t get stepped on.
• Go for Win-­‐‑Win or No Deal.

19. Watch How It Makes You Feel
• Developing a Win-­‐‑Win a8itude is not easy. But you can do it.
Think about it slowly, and as you go on, think about it more and
more.
• Eventually, it will become a mental habit, and you won’t even
have to think about it. It will become part of who you are.
• The most surprising benefit of thinking Win-­‐‑Win is the good
feelings it brings on.

20. • The true test of whether or not you are Win-­‐‑Win or one of the
alternatives is how you feel.
• Win-­‐‑Lose and Lose-­‐‑Win thinking will cloud your judgment and
fill you with negative feelings. You simply cannot afford to do
it.
• However, thinking Win-­‐‑Win will fill your heart with happy and
serene thoughts. It will give you confidence and fill you with
light.