Lose (verb, “lüz”) – to fail to keep, sustain, or maintain

We’ve all been there before. That gut-wrenching feeling of despair when the final horn sounds or the last out is recorded and you turn to see the scoreboard revealing a grim message: you lost. No matter how hard you worked or how much you wanted it, a loss is a loss. But when you’re in the aftermath of a loss, you have an incredible choice to make. Often times, people look at a final score and think there is nothing they can do about it when the reality is quite the opposite. Look at your shortcomings straight in the eye and tell them, not just yourself, that they have not gotten the best of you. Not today, not ever.

When striving for a goal, whether it is in sports or beyond, it is common to try and push away the thoughts of a failure or a loss. There is the looming fear of failure and many would rather keep that unknown out of sight and out of mind. But when you fear something, you give it power. You give that fear control of your future. A loss is something to be acknowledged. To be embraced. A loss is nothing more than a new challenge for you to overcome.

Glory is not always reserved solely for victory. It is not a one-step process that results from a final score. Glory is earned in the perils of failure. Once you conquer the fear, you will find that a loss is nothing more than a sign that you’re getting closer.