What could be more natural than that exultant feeling of victory? I love it, even if I've learned to hide my triumph.

Athletes do that really well. Mostly baseball players don't pump their fists when they hit a home run, they just jog the bases and pretend it's all nothing.

I always wonder what they're really thinking. Or what we're all really thinking. Because another way of thinking about victory is to wonder what it does to the mind.

Does it really create happiness? Or could it be doing the opposite?

Mindfulness is terrific at paradox, so here's one: what if victory leads to hate? That's actually what the teachings say. Can that be right? And if so, how?