Another angsty post… You were warned.
I always get frustrated when people get discouraged over loss or defeat. Why is it that people nowadays get discouraged and demoralized so easily at every slight hint of possible failure? Perhaps its is unfair to some for me to draw in the example of a sportsman. However, I’m truly grateful for the dogged tenacity that my coach imposed onto me during my short stint in kayaking, even if it may be at the price of my damaged knees, and cracking wrists – We all start off losing. Andre Agassi didn’t start off as world number 1; he lost all the way to that spot. Manchester United & Liverpool didn’t enter the Premier League as big 4; they lost all the way to the top. Lewis Hamilton didn’t join Formula 1 as an racing ace. He was a rookie that was defeated race after race; he lost all the way to the top as well. No one starts off winning – NOT A SINGLE ONE. Everyone just starts off losing, but along the way, they begin to lose lesser and lesser, and one day, they no longer lose to anyone.
Champions aren’t people who keep winning; they just stop losing.
If you cannot subject yourselves to the taste of defeat, don’t get into the game at all. Don’t lose and start whining, get discouraged and disappointed. Don’t demoralize those who are willing to try and drag them down with your self pitying cries. If the chances of losing – losing big time, is not real; chances are that the prize for success is probably equally fake.
It’s easy to spot such people. Those who walk out on a match when losing, who switch off the TV after halftime (Remember AC Milan vs Liverpool 2005), who quit Dota halfway, who likes to trash under skilled people and later go around boasting about it, always complain about imbalance when they are in the weak team – yet never mention anything about it when they are on the strong side of the imbalance. The leader who blames the members for the poor group performance, the captain who laments about his team, the pioneer who get discouraged after facing rejections. Even the double interpretation of this post’s title makes a clear distinction between such people! (Can anyone see both interpretations?)
Given the eternal consequences of our battle, we can’t afford to have people with such mentality.
Stay and fight!