# I finally realised I didn't need to win

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-champion-runner-didnt-need-to-win
- Themes: competition, letting go, happiness
- Life situations: sports, perfectionism

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A British schoolboy champion long-distance runner never loses — until one day he does. Asked why: he realised he didn't need to win. He never won another race, and was happier.

## The story, as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

one of his best friends was one of these athletes. He was like a long distance runner. And he would win every competition. And of first of all, the school competition, and then the sort of the county competition, and then the country competition. He was the champion long distance runner for the British schoolboys. And he would never lose a race. And then one day, inexplicably, he lost. And my friend who was a monk just went up to him and said, "How come you lost this time? What went wrong?" And this champion who people were thinking going to sort of go and represent sort of that country in the Olympic Games, he was doing that well. He said, "I finally realized I didn't need to win." And that was just an amazing statement because he had forced himself, he had tortured himself

## Teaching point

The compulsion to win can be the suffering; dropping it is freedom.

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

A British schoolboy champion who never lost a distance race finally came second. His explanation: I realised I didn't need to win. He had tortured himself in training and racing. He never won again, and was far happier. Our culture says winners are grinners, losers are boozers. Drop the pressure, and you're free.

## Source

- [The Winners and The Losers | Ajahn Brahm | 07-01-2011](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2sP0_KeNeM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 3:03 to 4:06: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2sP0_KeNeM&t=183s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 1 May 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np5zPAELroM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 5:06 to 5:32: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np5zPAELroM&t=306s