Defeats Can Be Victories

Defeat is defined as “to win a victory over someone or something” but the truth is that even in defeat, we can experience a victory.

There are some defeats more triumphant than victories.

Michel de Montaigne

Sometimes it may take being defeated to recognize the need for us to change for the better.  Sometimes our ego can take us on a very destructive path.  It is only in defeat that we can open our eyes and begin to understand the deeper truth and go in the direction that fits our better self.  Out of defeat we find a new form of victory.

When we first experience the loss, we are faced with the pain and difficulty of acceptance.  We may not be ready to face the lessons we need to acquire.  Eventually, however, we need to focus on the lesson to be learned and decide on the kind of person we want to become.  We need to create the life we desire. Let the failure be the teacher.

A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.

B. F. Skinner

Everyone who tries, fails sometimes. Whether competing to win a sporting event or trying for a promotion on the job, success requires developing the resilience and the courage to risk defeat.  This is particularly difficult after having experienced defeat and needing to try again.  This requires making ourselves vulnerable which is never easy.

It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.

Bill Gates

Failure can be a great teacher. Psychologists have found that learning requires recognizing, analyzing, and correcting our mistakes. However, we need to examine our failure and use what we learn to improve. When it comes to failure, we might say that the only way to fail is failing to learn from failure.