Losing is a Part of Life Essay Example

Something I have a strong opinion about is there is always a negative or a loser in any situation, but that losing teaches you more than winning does. The definition of losing when it is searched is the suffering, resulting in, or relating to defeat in a game or contest.  All definitions and connotations of the word losing evokes a negative tone. It’s something that we as humans don’t want to associate ourselves with. Being a former college athlete you want to avoid this feeling at all cost, and being ultra competitive I cannot stand the feeling of defeat. At times I think I hate losing more than I love winning, it’s the idea that someone is having joy at my expense. It always gets under my skin. But in the midst of all that, you realize how important it is to lose and how important it is to accept that everyone loses. It’s what you take away from your losses to prevent them from happening again is what makes winning that much sweeter. 

When a person is winning it’s easy to be happy and open and those may be genuine feelings but that isn't always who the person really is. If you’ve ever played a sport or been a part of a team that involves competition, you know the overall feeling and vibe that comes with winning. In my experiences regarding playing basketball my freshman year of high school we went undefeated. Being undefeated made us lose a sense of reality, we felt as if there wasn’t anything more for us to accomplish or learn while playing. It came with a sense of entitlement and cockiness that was on par with the level of professional athletes. And we rode that wave all the way to the State Championship game. Facing a team that had lost multiple games, we knew the game was over. We had people envisioning cutting the nets and picking rings sizes before we even stepped out on the court. After 32 minutes of basketball being played, we walked into the locker room in tears, dejected, and confused. Our first loss of the season and just like that the season is over. And in that locker room I saw true colors come out of people, I sent the built up anger and resentment. Arguments of who fault it was, who should have played more and who should have rode the bench. While facing that defeating feeling I learned more about who we were as a team and who people were as individuals. 

It’s when that person is losing or down on his luck you see the real side of a person. You see the anger, the desperation in the eyes, you can feel the hostile energy. You’ll see friends turn into enemies, people who always gave you a friendly gesture don’t even look in your direction anymore. And that negative feeling is the catalyst for the desire to win regardless of what it is in life. Knowing how it feels to lose is what drives a part to excellence. Every major success story talks about the years and years of heartbreak and losing they had to learn from and endure. That feeling in that locker room was what drove me throughout my high school years, those emotions in that locker room is why I was able to achieve all the accolades in high school and athletic scholarships. 

It makes you sit back and appreciate all the good things you once had. It’s all a cycle, things positive in your life only have meaning because there’s a negative aspect opposing that positive thing. You wouldn’t be able to appreciate the good things in life if you never got to experience the bad things in life. You’ll never know how good the sunshine feels on your skin if you never experienced the cold bitter nights. You could never appreciate the daylight if you never were surrounded by darkness. You can never understand the blessing it is to win if you never dealt with the emotional turmoil that losing brings. So in essence losing is more valuable than winning.