Jill here. My husband and I have been working our way through the Andy Griffith show on Netflix. I love this show. And I love little Opie. In a recent episode, Opie was gearing up to win a medal for running a race. And that was about the order he had put things in his head too. He wanted that medal more than he wanted anything else. But when the race came along, he lost. And he was a sore loser.
But Andy gave him a talking to, and while Opie didn’t come around right away, he did eventually. And this quote stuck with me:
The way Opie felt about winning that medal is how a lot of authors feel about getting published. We dream about it. We think about it day and night. We hope. And we train (by writing). But maybe it hasn’t happened yet. Or maybe you have a friend who has been published before you.
We might not have a choice as to when or if we ever get a book contract, but we do have a choice as to how we will act and treat our friends that do. We can respond with bitterness, condensation, and cruel criticisms and be a sore loser like Opie was in the episode, or we can put a smile on our faces, congratulate our friends for their successes, and be truly proud of them. That’s a lot harder, but it makes us better people.
Have you ever been a sore loser? I have. But I’ve also had times where I was a good loser too. And the latter feels a whole lot better, doesn’t it?