WELCOMING DEFEAT IN A GRACIOUS WAY

          In life, one of the tragedies that we encounter one way or the other is defeat. And this could come in any form, whether in our work performances, life relationships, or in our sports endeavors.  When we are defeated the most common and immediate reaction is that of pain, sadness, and self pity. 

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Somehow, depending on our personal disposition, yet for sure we are greatly affected by those defeats that for some, these could lead to their personal demise and destruction. Others would resort to self- blaming and much worse for some,  they resort to blaming others for their debacle.

          On the other hand, one positive thing we can get from those defeats is that they can be our motivator to strive the more. That instead of being deeply down by it, we rather choose to fight back and retreat momentarily to reflect what went wrong on the process.

          Each defeat whether in sports or in personal affairs is a precious opportunity for us all to look back and assess what went wrong. Self evaluation is very essential in our life since it allows us to check the pros and cons of our past events. Like for example if we are defeated in a  game of chess, then we need to evaluate what are the factors that cause us to be defeated.

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           And this involves the following: checking of our own strategies in playing against our opponent, prior assessment on our opponent's positive and negative tools, preparing ourselves physically, mentally, psychologically, morally, or telling ourselves that our opponent indeed performed well than us.

            Thus, being defeated therefore becomes an opportunity for us to engage in a self- checking of our own strength and weakness. Afterwards, we express gratitude for our positive qualities and we promise to own as well as improve our negative habits and ways.

TEAMWORK: KEY TO A TEAM'S SUCCESS

Coming together is a beginning.

Keeping together is progress.

Working together is success.

- Henry Ford

          Years ago, I had the chance to coach a basketball team composed of students between 15 yrs. old to 18 yrs. old. Recalling back that experience, I could say that several factors such as individual discipline, commitment to the team, set of self direction, perseverance, teamwork etc. contribute to the success of a team.  Among them, I would single out teamwork as focus of my sharing at this time. 

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          Going back to my team, those boys were young, talented and had much  vigor in them. There were 15 of them who comprised the school's varsity team. After weeks of try out, sweating it out with all hopeful, they came out as the lucky ones and emerged victorious. All throughout the year, we had our regular practice sessions and we were able to participate in certain competitions. Consequently, there were tears on moments of defeat and screams of joy when we won games especially against much favored teams. 

          Basically what came out as an outstanding quality among these kids was their ability to promote and maintain teamwork among themselves. Basketball is one of those games that needs teamwork among all players. Among anything else, there should be cohesiveness within the team. Each player must condition his heart that he plays an essential role in the team and the moment that he forgets about it,  it's the whole team that suffers. 

          As Henry Ford says above, "working together means success." At times, any player will experience a tug of war between one's self centered desire to get everybody else's adoration and accolade against the team's goal of winning. On the other hand, when teamwork is present, each member prioritizes the team's  goals and ideals. With teamwork, other areas such as defense, team morale, collective effort and morale are positively affected. Any team's integral parts are made up of members who are working together as one.     

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          As mentioned by one the game's most influential and popular player, Michael Jordan, " Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships." With his statement, he knew exactly that he is considered as such an exceptional talent however, it is also very evident that he recognizes the contributions done by his teammates. He was never been selfish in his games. Being a winner then exemplifies certain characteristics with teamwork emerges as one of the most crucial one. 

WINNING THE GAME

          We have heard of such sporting legends in various games such as Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Niki Lauda, and many more names. These are all winners in their respective field. They have brought honors not only to their own names but to their country as well. 

          Such feelings as greatness and overwhelmed are what we usually go through when making any accomplishment in life. However the road to winning is a bit challenging and at times very tricky. It is never an overnight phenomenon that we emerge as winners. Aside from that, it takes a lot of patience and dedication before we reach fulfillment. 

          To have that attitude of a winner will usher us to our goal attainment. What is being dictated in our minds is also relayed to the other parts of our body system. We need to consistently focus on what are laid down as objectives then follow them up with the corresponding concrete steps for realization. On the other hand, it is also beneficial to look ahead for distractions or misgivings and in so doing, we allow ourselves to plan ahead for tools to counter any of them. 

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          Those great players mentioned above had their own high and low in their career yet what is most distinguished in all of them is their triumph in their chosen path. For us, even if we are not yet savvy in our field yet with constant practice and focus, we can reach our goal in the future especially when we also adopt effective strategies.   

          Winning the game should always be our constant motivation- our guiding star to a positive outcome.