My twelve year-old son has experienced an awful season of baseball. A week ago, his team was 1 and 12 for the season. That's right - one win and twelve straight losses. Every loss brought on more sadness and frustration for my son. This is a boy who has been part of many winning teams. Last year, his baseball team came in first place for the baseball championships. This past winter, his basketball team came in second place.
If you're a parent, then you will understand and appreciate my next point. There are times as a parent when you search for the right words to say and out of nowhere they appear. As I was trying to comfort my son, the following words flowed from my lips:
"If you never experience what it feels like to lose, you will never fully appreciate what it feels like to win."
Wow...where did that one come from? I think I learned as much from that statement as he did, and I spoke the words. Think about the power of that sentence. In life and business we all inevitably fail at something, but without those failures, how would we ever learn and grow? How would we ever fully appreciate the successes?
The next time you're feeling down about a string of losses, look for the lessons and become a better person.
Just as important - that winning high you're experiencing today probably wouldn't exist if it weren't for those failures and losses you experienced in the past.
Very good point. We went through a season with NO wins. Sounds like your giving your son some great advice. Tony
Posted by: Tony Rossell | December 12, 2007 at 05:54 PM