(ThyBlackMan.com) Have you ever felt as if you were losing? Have you ever been associated with a losing culture? Between 2014-15 and 2015-16, the Philadelphia 76ers lost 28 straight games spanning two seasons, the most consecutive losses in NBA history. Now that’s losing!
“Last night took an L but tonight I bounce back”, raps Big Sean.
What’s the difference between a winner and a loser? A winner uses losing as fodder for bouncing back. The phrase “bounce back” means to get back in the game after something bad has happened to you.
In short, a winner never loses and a loser never wins. We have the ability to rise after a loss. Each of us has experienced loss; of jobs, loved ones, friendship.
Our losing seasons result in a degree of sadness, a feeling of having been abandoned and a decreased desire to even finish the game.
Winning while you are losing requires a mind-set. Here are three mental imperatives for bouncing back after a loss.
Relish the Underdog Role
Losing causes one to quit. This is when we should focus on the underdog role. An underdog is a competitor thought to have little chance of winning a contest or competition. An underdog is usually outsized but not necessarily outperformed.
Losing transforms a participator into a spectator. That is what usually happens when a person becomes disconnected from what’s important: they withdraw from the game and accommodate themselves to the sidelines. Don’t become a spectator. Relish the underdog role. You do not belong on the sidelines of life! Stay in the game. Do your best.
. Don’t overly focus on the ‘lost’ column unless you’re looking for signs of winning.
St. Paul writes to the church at Galatia: Let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Galatians 6:9 KJV)
Get into Scoring Position
Whoever wins the war gets to write the history, it’s been well-said. In football, scoring a touchdown is not really the goal of the game. Scoring a touchdown is the positive outcome. But in order to score, a team must put itself into field position. Then it gets to write the history of winning. Always concentrate on putting yourself into position to win. Football, for example, is a game of constant field positioning. The team with the best field position ultimately is victorious.
The goal of basketball is to score points. The goal of football is to score a touchdown. The goal of baseball is to score runs. Likewise, the goal of life is to score – to be successful at whatever you do! But, just as in sports, in order to score, you must put yourself into scoring position. The better the field position, the greater the scoring opportunities. Don’t focus on scoring, focus instead on getting in the best position.
Stay Focused
Losing is a mentality, a mind-set. When we experience losing over and over, the tendency is to develop a psychology of losing. It’s possible: that the next shot will be all net, the next swing will be a grand slam, and the next interview will be the impetus for success. View a loss as an opportunity for rebirth.
Winning while you’re losing requires focus and determination. The opponent’s job is to get and keep you off-balance.
Successful people, writes Jack Canfield, maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. Even when you’re losing – stay focused!
You can win even while you’re losing – but it requires a mind-set of positive thinking.
Staff Writer; W. Eric Croomes
This talented brother is a holistic lifestyle exercise expert and founder and executive coach of Infinite Strategies LLC, a multi-level coaching firm that develops and executes strategies for fitness training, youth achievement and lifestyle management. Eric is an author, fitness professional, holistic life coach and motivational speaker.
In October 2015, Eric released Life’s A Gym: Seven Fitness Principles to Get the Best of Both, which shows readers how to use exercise to attract a feeling of wellness, success and freedom (Infinite Strategies Coaching LLC, 2015) – http://www.infinitestrategiescoaching.com.