Have You Ever Lost?

Winning is cool and all, but have you ever tried losing?

It was some years ago that I lost my first match ever. I had won every fight I had done up until that point in time (in Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu both), and I was confident that this amateur match would amount to me winning yet another.  

Then I lost. 

Two weeks later, when the emotional rollercoaster came to a halt, I settled into growth. Which mistakes landed me in hot water? How can I fix them? What areas of my striking could I clean up? How can I better my timing and execution? I worked. I worked hard. I’m not sure there was another point in all my training in which I grew as much in a short period of time as I did after that loss. 

Losing sucks. It totally does. Everyone wants to win. Winning offers the quickest feedback for feelings of success. But it’s not the only way to claim success. Success can look many different ways, in many different situations.

Sometimes success comes from doing something you thought you’d be too scared to do. Sometimes it comes from a small victory, like not getting taken down in Jiu Jitsu. Sometimes it looks like growth in the aftermath. And sometimes, yes, it simply looks like winning. 

So the next time you decide to try something a little scary or outside your comfort zone, give it your all and do your absolute best. But…remember to keep a healthy view of “success” in mind, because win or lose, your mindset will dictate how much you grow in the aftermath of it all.