Do you agree with this quote?
"Losers focus on Winners. Winners focus on winning."
At first, it sounds compelling—edgy and provocative, designed to spark action. But the more I gave it thought, the more I realized that the first part of the quote is out of touch with reality, and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
But, in a fairness, I can see where the author is coming from. Many individuals with a negative attitude—what some would label as "losers"—tend to focus on the wrong side of comparison: envy, the desire to "drag winners down" instead of self-improvement, and living with a victim mindset.
But should we paint everyone with the same brush? Is everyone who compares themselves to better performers considered a "loser"?
Immediately, what comes to my mind is the narration of Umar ibn Al-Khattab competing with Abu Bakr. When Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ordered the people to give in charity, Umar declared to himself:
“If ever there was a day that I will outdo Abu Bakr, then today is the day.”
Umar brought half of his wealth to the Prophet ﷺ. When asked what he had left for his family, Umae replied, “The same amount.”
Then, Abu Bakr arrived with his contribution.
The Prophet asked him, “O Abu Bakr, what have you left for your family?” Abu Bakr replied, “Allah and His Messenger.” (Implying he gave away everything, leaving nothing behind except faith).
Observing this, Umar said, “By Allah, I will never do better than Abu Bakr.” (at-Tirmidhi #3675).
The Role of the Benchmark
What is interesting here is that while many cite this as "competing with one another," that wasn't exactly the case. Umar was the one competing; he was comparing himself to Abu Bakr, setting an inspirational target. And what a target! Abu Bakr was the most righteous human being after the Prophets.
Abu Bakr, on the other hand, wasn’t competing with Umar at all. He was simply doing his own thing: "winners focus on winning". His iman (faith) was on a level that made him naturally self-driven and proactive. A trailblazer by any definition.
Now, look at Umar. He was the second most righteous person in the entire Muslim nation, guaranteed Paradise. If anyone deserved to relax, it was him. Yet, in a testament to his commitment to Ihsan (excellence), he pushed himself to never be complacent by setting high benchmarks.
Years later, during his own Caliphate, a companion noticed the intense austerity Umar imposed on himself and asked why he pushed so hard.
Umar replied:
"Indeed, I have left my two companions (the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr) on a path; if I leave their path, I will never reach them." (Hilyat al-Awliya)
Even though these two men has passed, they continued to fuel his determination to improve and do better!
Are "Winners" Beyond Comparison?
Abu Bakr was the benchmark... or was he? In reality, Abu Bakr’s benchmark was the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself.
And the Prophet ﷺ? In multiple narrations, he cited how he was inspired by the past Prophets—the "winners" before him. He drew strength from Prophet Yusuf’s commitment to justice and Prophet Musa’s patience in dealing with toxic members of society.
Even in the Quran, Allah tells the Prophet ﷺ:
"And We relate to you [O Prophet] the stories of the messengers to reassure your heart..." (Surah Hud, 11:120)
So, who are we calling a "loser"?
Practical Application: The Professional Edge
In the professional world, this is why we have industry benchmarks. In project management, we scale our performance against the Cost Index (CI) and Schedule Index (SI) of the industry.
Is our "best" truly world-class, or are we just tooting our own horns? Or, we say in Malay "syok sendiri" and "Jaguh Kampung" ?
Our project recently went through this journey of discovery. By looking at "winners," we asked:
❓ How did other operators achieve this?
❓ What did they do differently?
❓ What limitations are holding us back?
Only when we have that data, we can ask the higher question: Can we do BETTER than the rest of the pack? Can we perhaps, pave the way to set a new standard?
We can definitely apply this in our personal and spiritual lives, too. Personally, I have many different friends whom I set personal benchmarks in various areas of life which I deem important. They inspire me to do better in parenting, prayer, seeking knowledge, writing, professional capability, and others.
Having them around keeps me from being complacent. They don't even know it, yet they play a very important role in my life.
Final Thought
If we take this "losers vs winners" quote to heart and refuse to compare ourselves to winners, we risk moving forward in a vacuum. If we ignore the benchmarks, how do we know we aren't just stagnating?
What do you think? Is it fair to consider those who follow the examples of winners to be "losers," or is a healthy comparison the very thing that sets us on the path to winning?
