Winner - Loser and Gestalt Therapy

Transactional Analysis is a theory, a method used to improve communication and understand human behavior and psychological patterns.

Each human being is born different and has a uniqueness which never existed before.

Every sensory organ is exercised differently by every human being, be it the way you look at things, the way you sense objects, the hearing pattern etc. Every human has his/her own capabilities and limitations.

We often associate words like winner and loser to a person. These words have different meanings. Winner is seen as a person who has great strength, potential and is seen to be a trustworthy and reliable person. He is a credible person as an individual and also as a member of the society.
On the other hand a loser is interpreted as one who fails to achieve his set goals. He is seen as a person with low morale and one who gives up easily.

We now look deeper into the actual meaning of winner and loser as applied in TA.

A winner is someone who is authentic. He plays a role model and is a spontaneous person. He is not ruled by emotions and does not play "helpless". He is no God either. He knows his limitations and can work around these limitations instead of blaming fate.

A winner is someone who lives in the "now" and does not wait for things to happen in the future or blame the past for the misgivings.
He can control and focus on positive energies and use it to his advantage. A winner knows that time is precious and does not waste it on things which are of less importance. He knows when to listen and when to speak. He is in total control of a given situation and puts his best effort to make world a better place.

Although a human being would always want to be a winner, not many come out with flying colors always. While some people are successful in gaining complete transition from total helplessness to complete independence, losers fail to do so. They on the other hand lose their grip somewhere along the line and avoid reaching the state of independent and responsible individuals.

A loser is self made. You are not born a loser. It is the lack of determination and focus which puts you in a loser's situation. A loser is an unhappy person, who tries to find a situation that can be blamed for his current being. A loser seldom lives in the present and always wonders about the 'ifs' and 'buts'. "if only I had a different job...", "If only my father had left me some assets..." etc
Rather than pursuing targets in the present, they live to wonder how things could have been different “If ...”. Time is immaterial to a loser and he does not respect it.

Gestalt therapy aims at helping people become a whole. It helps individuals identify "self" and integrate fragmented parts to complete themselves. This therapy helps individuals to become self reliant and self sufficient. It removes the thought of being dependent. Some of the common methods in Gestalt therapy include role plays ('Hot seat' being the most famous one), behavior exaggeration, fantasy world etc. These methods help in realizing one self and attain self actualization.