Winning well matters too
Is it harder to endure a victory than a defeat
Human nature finds it harder to endure a victory than a defeat; indeed, it seems to be easier to achieve a victory than to endure it in such a way that it does not in fact turn into a defeat.
Friedrich Nietzsche, Thoughts out of Season, Part I
Friedrich Nietzsche critiques German culture after their victory over France. What is the point of military dominance if you don’t have a culture?
Such questions suggest a lesson we can apply to many domains.
In our personal lives, it’s easy to let great successes go to one’s head. Victory is intoxicating.
Though, I suspect in today’s day and age it’s not so much epic victories that distort, it’s our everyday level of comfort and satisfaction. It’s a soporific, not a stimulant.
We see a similar idea in Musonius Rufus:
Musonius used to say that it was the height of shamelessness to think about how weak our bodies are when enduring pain, but to forget how weak they are when experiencing pleasure.
Of course, there’s the obvious harms that come from addictive pleasures, but the more subtle ones likely have more corrupting force. When we are merely satisfied we fail to seek out the next challenge. Contentment makes way for complacency. Our small victories make for an excellent excuse for avoidance behavior. We don’t aim for excellence because things are already good enough – anyway excellence isn’t easy.
This fits nicely with Seneca’s line:
If any goods could be greater than others, I would have given preference to these goods more than those others; I’d have said that the harsh ones are greater than the soft, luxurious kind. For beating down one’s difficulties is greater than governing one’s delights.
Moral Letters 66
It’s nearly in contradiction with Nietzsche – but his argument is that difficulty provides a means for excellence:
“The cry of “Well done, brave men!” is heard only by those who come back bloody from the front. So these are the goods I would praise: the courageous ones, the ones that have been
tried and tested, the ones that have done battle with fortune.”
The martial analogy is clear. One can display bravery while posted away from the frontlines, but one is not tested in the same way.
Putting the point differently, victory risks cementing us in a local minimum. We conquer an obstacle, improve ourselves and our situation, but rest on our laurels. Adversity can improve our character, but it doesn’t necessarily do so.
Luckily, or not, life isn’t that easy. For most of us, another challenge is on the way – perhaps it is already here. Don’t be complacent in victory. When you win, win well and stay on the path.