There are some things in life that you can not escape. One of these things is an inevitable cycle of wins and loses. You may experience one more often than the other, but I can guarantee that in some aspect of your life, you have experienced both.
As an athlete, your career is pretty much measured by your wins and losses. It is easy for outsiders to judge players and teams by the records they accumulate. In almost all sports, people are going to jump to a conclusion that a 4-1 team is better than a 1-4. And, yes, that is the case most of the time. It is not always true.
I have never in my life met a person who thoroughly enjoys losing. Whether it be a sports game, or their wallet, or a friend, losing is almost never fun. Sometimes it may feel like you are being bombarded by losses and no matter how hard you work, you can't seem to find a way to pull out a win. And while taking an L constantly can be discouraging, I promise you it is very important.
There are so many people in this world, who are crippled by loss. They carry it with them like a giant weight on their shoulders. This weighs them down for their next battle, and slowly but surely they let previous losses causes new losses until they stop competing. But losing is not heavy. Losing is not a weight that holds you down. It is more like a piece of paper that you carry around in your pocket. It reminds you of what you did last time, and encourages you to keep going.
Something that is often forgotten is that life is unfair. And the world does not owe you anything. And maybe that is not okay, but it has to be because that is just the way it is. Even if you give it your all, you do not deserve to come out victorious. And even if you do deserve it, you still probably won't. And the sooner you except that the world is not personally out to get you, the sooner you will realize that you can still win, even if you do not have the results to prove it.
When all is said and done, the world is going to remember people who won the championships and who made it to the top. But in the grand scheme of life, you win a lot from losing as well. You will learn a lot more about yourself, about generalized human nature and about life from being on a team that goes 0-32 then a team that goes 32-0. Like the old cliche goes, "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
Of course, you still strive to win and we celebrate those who do. But embrace the losses. Let them wash over you and allow you to try again. The wins will come, you just have to be patient.
