It sounds like a ridiculous notion, doesn’t it? If you want to win, you have to lose first. It’s something that may not resonate with you; after all, you aim to succeed and win every single time. And nobody likes being called a loser, right? We’ve been taught our entire lives to avoid losing at all costs, so much so that at times we become so scared of losing we never even get started.
You’re a total loser! Sounds horrible, right? Well, maybe it’s not as bad as it sounds. What if being a loser means that you’re not afraid to get started down a path to a bigger life? What if it means being brave enough to do the things to become successful that others aren’t willing to put themselves through? What if it means you’re a warrior with the courage to go into battle and fight for the things you believe in?
Sure, winning is your end goal.
But what does winning really teach you? Winning gives you the feeling of satisfaction, of overcoming something that was bigger than you. It gives you the feeling of relief that yes, you’ve made it.
Compared to losing, though, winning doesn’t teach you a thing. Losing teaches you where to make changes, to learn, to grow. Losing teaches you what to do to be successful next time. If you are a loser before you’re a winner, you’re able to learn that failure can be a positive experience.
Sometimes, you have to lose in order to win, and it’s considered a pillar of success to be able to graciously lose and learn from the loss. People who lose are the winners because they learn not to give up hope, not to lose motivation, that even when they fall down, they can get back up again. They learn that being on the floor doesn’t mean that they don’t have the ability to stand.
Losers learn that if they keep trying, they will win, and it becomes non-negotiable for them to win, too.
If at first you don’t succeed…
It’s the old school playground rhyme: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. The reason for this is to teach children that there is no end of the road. They can and will succeed if they keep trying. If children can learn this, why can’t you? If you give up in your efforts to get to where you want to be, how will you ever be able to figure out if you had potential? How will you know that you wouldn’t have succeeded in the end?
Thomas Edison didn’t give up when the lightbulb wasn’t perfect the first time. Had he given up, we wouldn’t have the lightbulbs we have today. It took Edison 1,000 attempts to get the lightbulb right, and he was told he was too stupid to learn anything by his teachers. He showed them, didn’t he?
If Thomas Edison hadn’t learned from his failures, we wouldn’t know his name, and his name would not have graced our history books. What if you let your fear of failure hold you back and you choose not to try because you’re scared to lose? What could the world be missing out on?
Don’t ever give up
It’s usually those who are afraid they won’t be successful who are afraid to attempt anything at all. They see losing as a huge failure, and this isn’t right. Taking failure as a negative thing is the first thing you’d do wrong. Losing can encourage you to do better, and it can also mean that you finally learn something new. Perfection comes from getting something wrong while learning to do it right.
Miracles happen every single day, and if you continue to try, you will be able to succeed and find true satisfaction in it.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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