5.31 Rafael Nadal: Enjoy the Victories

 

"If you don't lose, you cannot enjoy the victories. So I have to accept both things." - Rafael Nadal

Do you enjoy losing?

I hate losing. I never want to lose at anything. But I also accept losing because it is a part of being an athlete and competitor.

If you never lose, that means you are really good where you are, and you probably need to find somewhere else to compete.

What do I mean by this?

You aren’t being pushed to be the best you can be. There is so much you can learn from losing.

When I was growing up, we were told, “If you were the best player in the gym, find another gym.” I was also told to play older, bigger, and better players because competing against and losing to them would make me better.

Rafael Nadal is one of the best tennis players of all time. He once said, "If you don't lose, you cannot enjoy the victories. So I have to accept both things."

While I don’t like losing, they make me better and help me appreciate the wins so much more.

Nadal also said, “The glory is being happy. The glory is not winning here or winning there. The glory is enjoying practicing, enjoy every day, enjoying to work hard, trying to be a better player than before.”

When you learn how to accept both winning and losing, you can find more joy in the process of working hard at the things you love most and focus on what matters: Having fun, getting better, and being the best you can be.

Question of the Day: How do you learn how to accept the losses while still being as competitive as possible?