I once sat with an athlete a few hours after the biggest competition of his career. For years, he had imagined how the day would unfold. He knew where his family would be sitting. He knew what he would say in post-match interviews. He had rehearsed the victory long before it arrived. Then he lost. Not dramatically. Not through bad luck or controversy. He simply wasn't good enough on the day. When he came into the room, he looked less disappointed than confused. "I don't know

You know what luck is? Luck is believing you’re lucky. Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, 1947 (Cooper, 2022). How do you approach competition? In your view, do you dare to win or do you dare to lose? Most people feel they dare to win because in their eyes, if they dare to lose, they are looking pessimistically at the challenge before them. When we take a psychological lens to explore these possibilities, we see at least two constructs in action. First, our need to