Your Record?

I recently had a conversation with a student and the words "afraid to lose" came up. I have a hard time understanding this. By just committing to the competition and participating you have won.

YOU ARE NOT JUDGED BY YOUR WIN/LOSS RECORD. If someone thinks less of you because you lost an MMA fight then they are not a friend. YOU ARE JUDGED BY YOUR ACTIONS AND THE QUALITY OF THE PERSON YOU ARE. That is how people should see you.

"little" Sal lost his first fight. Does that mean he is less of a person? Does that mean his opponent is a better person? His opponent could be a serial killer. The win means nothing in terms of character.

Sal just won his first fight. Does that mean his opponent is a bad person? No he could do great things in his personal life. He was just not the better athlete that night. If he fought Sal 10 times, Sal would win all 10. Does that mean anything about this guy? No!

After Sal's fight he was helping his teammates get ready for their fight. He went out and saw his family/friends and then came back into the locker room and did a great job helping them. He could have stayed out in the crowd and enjoyed his win. He gave up some of that to help others. That reveals more about the type of person he is than his win/loss record.

So don't be afraid to lose. Be afraid to lose out on great experiences!