We all want to win in life. That's why we do everything to ensure we are heading towards victory. And if things are out of reach, we surrender everything to the One who can make things possible for us. Winning keeps us motivated, and the sight of the prize, whatever that may be, stirs us from the inside. 

Our winning and losing depend much on our mindset. If we are to win, we need to have the grit to win. If we are double-minded, we might miss the opportunity when it comes before us. 

It's not enough to gaze at the prize. In order not to lose in life, we also need to work on the following:

Move on from the regrets of yesterday

We all have done mistakes in the past. We have made terrible choices. But if we keep on looking back and reminiscing our "what-ifs" and "should-haves", we will end up spending unnecessary energy on things we could have spent elsewhere. 

There's a saying "do not cry over spilled milk." I guess it's a bit harsh and unempathetic. It is OK to cry when our milk spills over. It's a waste, and it's a loss! Especially when we have invested a lot of emotions in that milk, of course, we are entitled to cry about it. It's only reasonable to pour in emotions. What's unreasonable is allowing yourself to get stuck in that spilled milk situation over and over. Let that spilled milk wipe dry. 

Allow yourself to heal. Don't rehash the situation over and over. The only time you should glance back is to review the lessons of the past. Don't wound yourself again by living in regrets.

Don't stress about your tomorrow

Another thing we should stop doing is stressing too much about tomorrow. The future is uncertain, and it is understandable to be afraid of what might or might not happen in the future. But stressing about yourself with something that has not yet happened is the same as paying for food that may or might not be delivered to you. Am I making sense? Let me explain. 

We pay for something we expect to be delivered to us. We pay for the fare because we expect to be brought somewhere our fare is equivalent. We pay for food and we expect it to be given to us. We pay tuition fees in exchange for education. We pay in exchange for something. But when it comes to stressing about tomorrow, we pay in terms of stress, but we are not sure if what we're thinking about is worth stressing about. 

Don't lose your battles spending unnecessary energy on something uncertain. What you need to do is to plan, and expend effort on making sure your plans work out - but when it does not, at least have a contingency. Let wisdom work. 

Cease to complain about your today

Another surefire way to lose your battles is by complaining regularly. Complaining drains energy and impedes growth. It saps the productivity of people around and doesn't produce the environment we want to soak ourselves into. 

Complaining rubs off. Complain once and soon everyone around you will be a complainer as well, and soon no work will be done. As they say, misery loves company. So complainers flock together. 

But people with a positive outlook in life, who are grateful no matter the situation, who sees the bigger picture, and who knows which matters need attention and which aren't, are the best kind of people. They know that the day might not be perfect, but they can make it work just fine. The day may have its downside, but they can lift themselves up. 

A pessimist sees a problem in every opportunity; an optimist sees opportunity in every problem. Choose your side. 

How not to lose at life? Don't regret yesterday, don't stress about tomorrow, and don't complain about today.