Why The Pain of Losing is the Key for Athletes to Win on the Next Level
It’s hard for an athlete to embrace losing on the path to getting better. Most athletes want to limit their chances of losing, and rightfully so. Losing is painful.
However, to make a jump to the next level, pain is a requirement. As renowned sport psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais reminds people so often:
The reason people change is because of pain.
It’s a bold statement, but being honest with your pain and embracing being uncomfortable = change and growth 📈
— Dr. Michael Gervais (@michaelgervais) November 21, 2019
(A segment from @impact_theory with @TomBilyeu) pic.twitter.com/zVEG7xl8Z1
If an athlete didn’t need to change on the path to their next level of success, then they would already be on that level. Therefore, consistently making choices that allow one to avoid the pain of losing is also a choice to limit one’s success.
The Fear of Losing Limits an Athlete’s Potential
The fear of losing puts an athlete in a constant state of trying to protect what they have now. This fear severely limits an athlete’s potential because what they have now is not close to what they could potentially have without this fear.
Moreover, this fear causes athletes to rationalize bad situations and wallow with other athletes that bring them down to their level. In addition, this fear will convince an athlete that being average is the best they can do. As a result, they will avoid risks and remain stagnant on the same level of performance.
Losing to Win on the Next Level
Unquestionably, the goal is to win. I would be remiss if I didn’t make that clear as I end this rant. However, winning at the same level is not the same as winning on the next level. It takes something extra. In one of Muhammad Ali’s famous quotes, he states plainly how an athlete gets that something extra:
Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win…
Everyone knows that the harder the competition the harder it is to consistently win. Furthermore, those elite athletes who consistently win at the highest levels hate losing. While this may seem like a contradiction, it’s not. That extra ounce of grit that Muhammad Ali talks about is earned by experiencing the pain of loss, then working one’s ass off not to feel that pain again. This is why the pain of losing is such a critical part of winning on the next level.