Winning

I want to win, you want to win, we all want to win!  Who doesnt like winning?  The good feelings of accomplishment, the people who give us praise, the crowd that goes wild!  Winning tends to always be a good thing for us and our team.  Many times when we win however, we dont really think of the other side, the loser(s).  It feels pretty bad to lose.  Its not fun, no one gives praise for it and many times the crowd may boo. 
I have dealt with a lot of families where the parents are constantly trying to win.  Win over their families, win over their children and win over their spouses.  Remember, if someone wins, there is almost always a loser.  If someone loses in a relationship, and the relationship is the priority, then the relationship loses.  I had a mom last week tell me, "I used to try to win because that's how I was raised."  "My parents didn't want to hear what I had to say."  This is common with parents, they feel like they have to be the winners in their relationship/disciplining/consequence their children.  All this winning by the parents and losing by the children causes children to grow up afraid, resentful, bitter about their parents and how they were raised.  How then do we win at relationships, parents are still in charge and respected and kids feel good about their families?  Stay tuned as next week I will discuss this topic further.  Read the following questions to start thinking about this topic.

Questions:
1)  How did my parents treat me growing up?  Am I bitter, resentful?
2)  Do I feel as though my parents tried to win when parenting me?
3)  Do I have issues being in charge or having authority over others and my family?