Losing can equal success with the correct mindset. Losing can teach you how to keep chasing your dreams and goals after you have been knocked down.
As a full contact Taekwondo competitor, losing is inevitable. However, I have learned to use the losses to refocus, train harder, and step back on the mat to try again. I am also the parent of two 4-H kids. I have learned to teach my kids the mindset of taking the loss with etiquette and gaining the courage and knowledge to try again until they succeed.
We live in a society where winning is everything and everyone is a winner. We hide from losing instead of embracing it. I am not saying that everyone should go out and intentionally lose or that losing doesn’t stink, because it does. But, I also know losing can offer valuable life skills. Competing is part of human nature and it is healthy to an extent. There will always be a winner and a loser, but it is what the winner and loser do with their wins or losses that matter. Learning ourselves and teaching/coaching our kids to lose is okay given the correct mindset. Both winning and losing are only temporary while the skills gained and lessons learned are permanent.
Read It
Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, authors of Top Dog: the Science of Winning and Losing emphasizes that there’s a positive aspect to failure that kids are not being exposed to. “It’s not about teaching kids to lose per se,” she explains, “It’s more about helping them realize that they need to be resilient and persistent in the face of failure. If they never lose, how are they going to learn to come back from that, and try again?”
Watch it
Listen toJulie Lythcott-Haims, the author of How to Raise an Adult, on the Today show segment titled How to stop helicopter parenting and set your kids up for success.
About the author:
Autumn Gilleard, was born and raised in Western Montana Autumn lives on a ranch with her husband, two daughters, and son. She enjoys spending time in the outdoors with her family 4-wheeling, fishing, rafting, and hiking. When not out on a adventure with her family, you can find her at the Missoula Taekwondo Center. Where she trains as a black belt and part of a competition team. (She is Worth the Fight……Hahahahah)
