Taking the First Step the Day After a Loss
After you lose, everyone will tell you to learn from it. Great advice, but easier said than done. In fact, research shows it’s much harder to learn from failure than it is to learn from success. Furthermore, there are multiple complex steps you must take that require the use of the strategic mindset. Without this mindset is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to truly learn from a loss.
However, the day after a loss I don’t recommend you start with any complex mindset analysis like this in the process of learning from failure. This will bog you down before you are ready. There is a time and place for this, but it’s not the day after a loss.
Indeed, your best chance to take a step forward the day after a loss is to start with the fundamentals. Not technique either. I suggest you go even further back. Start with your purpose. In other words, to move forward the day after a loss begin with the end in mind.
Move Forward After a Loss by Beginning with The End in Mind
Beginning with the end in mind is a fundamental principle of success that comes from the classic Stephen Covey book you’ve probably either already read or heard of a thousand times…The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The second of the seven habits Covey describes is Begin with the End in Mind. Covey States
‘Begin with the end in mind’ is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There’s a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things.
Another way to put this is to know your purpose. To know your purpose, you must ask yourself some tough questions. For example
- Why must I learn from this loss?
- What specifically do I want to achieve by learning from this loss?
- What’s driving my motivation other than just winning?
- What will happen if I don’t learn from this loss?
Remember your purpose is not the same thing as your goal. A purpose is bigger than a goal. It’s not just a passion and it’s not just acquiring fame or material things either. Purpose is the combination of passion and the desire to achieve multiple interconnected goals that at the end will have a significant impact that goes beyond just you. This impact may be on your family, school, community, state, country, culture, or even the world. Moreover, unlike a goal you can only have one purpose at a time.
To conclude, the day after a loss is all about directing your self-motivation. If the purpose you come up with at the end does not direct your self-motivation into doing everything it takes to get better by learning from your loss, don’t stop working on defining your purpose until it does.