The tension between the two is one that many high performers struggle with. Someone asked me this the other day, saying, “Winning isn’t everything — yet somehow, it becomes the only thing that matters.”

You may find yourself caught in a win-at-all-costs mindset. This can lead to frustration and a constant focus on results. You might also lose the drive to perform well. This is clear among bettors on platforms like 22Bet. Some bet on the results, while others seek the excitement of the experience.

In this recent video, I share the mental models to resolve this age-old conundrum.

1) Internal Experience vs. External Results

This is why the issue of enjoyment versus winning can be inherently misleading. But here, the attempt has been made to help you process and choose where you want to focus.

2) Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

Athletes and high performers often make a common mistake. As they rise, they mix up their goals and results with their reasons for playing. You can have intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Yet, the world’s best athletes stay in touch with their intrinsic drivers.

3) Choose Your Priority

You need to decide what truly comes first for you. What is the number one thing?

Many people think their achievements are what matter most. This includes what they want to have, what they want to achieve, and the results of winning.

The paradox is that this makes their mindset worse and less likely to achieve results.

As you change your priorities to who you want to be and focus on becoming that, clarity ensues. We call this Mindset First. With this mindset in place, things tend to flow quite smoothly into action. Results aren’t guaranteed. But your chances at success go up.

And the best part is you’re more likely to enjoy the whole experience (and the journey).

Who Do You Choose To Be?

First, let me qualify something here: when you focus on your mindset and enjoy it, you are not losing that competitive fire or killer instinct.

You’re often heightening it because you are intentionally choosing to be in attack mode. By playing with more patience and aggressiveness, you will have more poise.

The Big Trap

Most people will focus on their mindset because that is going to lead to better results.

But this is the big trap – you’re prioritizing the results again.

Instead, I want you to focus on the process for its own sake. True enjoyment comes from the experience itself, not from the ultimate score.

It’s a composition of yourself, your approach, your presence in that moment, and the journey. That is what evokes enjoyment.

Of course, putting this into practice is much harder than simply saying it. The results are everywhere – stats, social media, standings, and cultural norms. People are talking and obsessing about results.

But when you can prioritize the process over the results – that’s what I call the realm of the super-elite.

It’s the attitude taken on by people who perform under pressure, and whose results are not shaken by noise on the periphery. Oftentimes, when you commit fully to the process, the results follow naturally as a byproduct.