We've all heard, "You're your own worst enemy." And while we may roll our eyes when we hear the cliché, it couldn't be any more truthful. In a society that tells us we have to be good at everything to be happy, we begin to criticize ourselves until we reach this "perfect image." What we forget is that no one is good at everything—even the people we believe have no flaws. The first step to being undefeated is realizing you will be defeated.
Defeats happen every day. Whether it's a big or small loss, we encounter a struggle at some point during our 24 hours. The reason we admire people who seem to "have it all," is because of how they handle their struggles. Psyching yourself out and thinking negatively are not traits of undefeated people. Being undefeated means removing yourself from the current situation to see the big picture. It means never ridiculing yourself for answering a question wrong, coming in third place, buying the wrong color, or messing up the recipe. Undefeated people take these little uphill battles and still think to themselves, "I'm going to be great today."
The world is full of talented people with extraordinary gifts, but the most successful people aren't always the most talented. People feed off of positive attitudes and someone they can relate to. Even if your final product looks mediocre compared the rest, your perseverance and attitude can make it the best. This leads to the fact that undefeated people have the greatest amount of self-respect.
We will all be hard on ourselves at some point or another. It's inevitable and pushes us to do better next time. What undefeated people don't do is dwell on the negatives and allow those harsh feelings taint their view of themselves. Being undefeated means picking yourself up and loving who you see in the mirror, regardless of mistakes.
There's no secret recipe to winning at everything; if there was, we'd all be perfect. What differentiates the winners from the losers is hope. Hope that tomorrow is another day. Hope that we can choose to be happy. Hope that mistakes can always be mended. Hope that there's always a positive twist. And hope that there's a finish line after the long, steep hill.
Being undefeated starts with you, some positivity, and a whole lot of self-worth.
