Losing means learning

Nobody likes to lose.

In fact, many of us avoid it. Why wouldn’t we want to avoid the bad feelings that losing produces?

Although painful, the times when we lose are often when we learn the most.

As Nelson Mandela shares “I never lose. I either win or learn.”

In reality, it is not the absence of losing that makes us succeed, but our ability to quickly learn from our losses, alter our approach and continue enduring with positive energy.

3 ways to consider learning from losing.

1. How quickly am I digesting what I hear and experience? While we are always listening and experiencing, it often takes time and self-reflection for us to truly understand. Losing is often painful. Feedback that we receive can be painful. It would be easy to brush off the painful losses and feedback. Yet by digesting it quickly, we allow ourselves to learn fast and improve. That way, we prevent similar losses in the future.

2. Should I change my mind? While there are core values that we should never budge on, the world is a complex place that always changes. Any single person can only know so much. While losses and setback shouldn’t change our energy levels, they can certainly change our minds. Since most people are stuck in their ways, by simply being open to changing our minds, we give ourselves a significant advantage.

3. Losing is inevitable: Even the best runners don’t win every race. The best teams don’t win every game. The best parents don’t make every right decision. The best salesperson does not win every deal. The list goes on. Instead of shying away from losing, by understanding that it is inevitable, we can make the losses more bearable while learning more in the process.

Thanks for reading. Let’s learn from our losses this week!