You Are Going to Lose
That may be the greatest thing about sports. You are going to lose. As a coach on many different levels, I cannot remember many of my wins, but can recall vivid details about almost every loss, and can tell you exactly how my team should have been better prepared or when I should have called for a bunt in the 3rd inning instead of swinging.
You are going to lose. It is called feedback. It tells you when your practice could have been better, when your focus was blurred, or when someone “figured you out” but you didn’t adjust.
I have been around some of the truly great pitchers in the game and it was so interesting to watch their reaction after a loss. The umpire might have been squeezing them, but they accepted the blame for not being able to “find his zone”. This would not happen again.
Their own team might not have hit well, but that team has carried her many times, and she feels that she could have returned the favor or have been a more effective leader. The great ones are not “sore losers”. They simply do not accept losing. Something needs to change and they are going to find that something and change it. In one way or another, they see losing as something they can control, although they can never eliminate it entirely. The opponents will always try to react, coming at you in new ways, thus the game gets more exciting, and the learning opportunities are greater. Losing makes you better, but only if it lights a fire inside you, only if it helps you build habits that will prevent it recurring, and hopefully the changes you make are ones that ones that make you feel good about yourself and makes you fearless about trying to overcome obstacles in every part of your lif