It is hard to believe that people do not understand the value of losing. We Americans make so much of winning you would think it is the only thing of value. But the truth is losing has much more value.
I recently was in a high school and noticed two plaques on the wall highlighting scholar athletes. They both had their essay on "Sportsmanship" engraved on them. These were the award winning essays, judged to be the best explanation of "Sportsmanship." However, they both failed to mention LOSING.
While it is good be polite and courteous when winning, it will not help them to be MORE successful in the future, losing will. Good sportsmanship is learning how to lose well.
People who say "winning is everything" or "don't be a good loser" are just plain wrong. Those who blame outside factors such as the referee or rules or weather or anything else, just miss the point. When you are beat, it is much better to say, today they performed better than I did.
The fact is that in life you will ALWAYS lose more than you win. Just ask any married person. Being successfully married has a lot to do with learning how to lose an argument and knowing how to carry on.
At home or at work if you learn to how to take a defeat and learn how to approach it differently the next time, you will be much more successful. Those who just blame others for their defeats, are justifying their approach and methods which will destine them to more loses in the future. "He who does not learn from the past is destined to repeat it" or something like that.
You have heard business people talk about continuous improvement. Well, this only comes from constant change, and change only evolves from examining defeats. Those who accept their defeats, examine the victors methods so they may change and grow will be more successful in the future.
So if you want your kids to be successful. Teach them to lose well.
