Learning to Lose

There is a lot of buzz going around lately about political stuff. Today as my husband and I talked about it there was one thing I felt most important to share- accepting loss!

I remember crying at my 8th Birthday party because I lost at musical chairs! It was down to just me and 1 other kid and I didn't win. I cried and cried about it, but it didn't change the fact that I lost. I soon got over it and moved on with my life. In fact, I haven't thought much of it until just now.

I'm not going to lie, I was down right MAD when Romney lost both times, but you know what I did? I accepted it and moved on with my life! It was not the end of the world. I wasn't happy with Obama winning both times, but that is life. You don't always win. You don't always get your way. There isn't much you can do about it, except realizing that and moving on with your life.

Several years ago I went to a Stake Relief Society meeting. One of the speakers was a local therapist. She talked about how there has been a rise in college drop outs. All these students grew up being told they were the "best". They were the best athlete, the best at math, the best at this and that. Then they go to college where they are with thousands of other "bests" and they aren't #1 anyone. They don't know how to handle that essential rejection. Going from always being the best to being average is devastating to them. They don't know how to accept loss.

There is a different in accepting a loss and fighting for what is right. In the case of the recent presidential election, I believe that the results are fair. That is how the system has worked for how many years now. Some years Democrats win and other years Republicans win. If whatever party lost always fought against it there would be pure chaos! On the other hand- My husband is a huge hockey fan and has got me hooked as well. Recently we were listening to a game being played by our favorite team. One of the rules of hockey is you can't interfere with the goalie to keep him from blocking the goal. As we listened to the game the opposing team scored. Immediately following the goal the announcers said that the goalie was furious and said there was goaltender interference.  The announcers discussed how these professional goalies accept it when a goal is shot against them, it's a part of the game, but when there is a wrong doing they fight against it. They reviewed the goal and did revoke it due to goaltender interference. You should see what these goalies do when they lose a game... they simply shake their heads, move on with their lives and try harder the next game. They don't scream. They don't fight it. They don't demand a recount. They accept the loss and strive to do better.

Learning to lose is a part of life. Your presidential candidate isn't always going to win. Your favorite sports team isn't always going to win. In fact, ours is kind of sucking right now! They actually won a game tonight, but  the kicker is that the winning goal was made by the opposing team! Poor guy flicked the puck behind him and it went into the net causing his team to lose! Anyways, accept loss. Accept that you won't ALWAYS win, you won't always be right. Life won't always be fair. When I was a kid I thought that when you grow up life magically becomes fair, it doesn't!