Lose to Win

Last night I was in a contest, a speech contest no doubt and I lost. I thought I would win, well, at least second but I came in 3rd out of 6 contestants. Not really a bad loss, and in many ways a moral victory. I rationalized why I was not the champ all the way home, but at the end of the day I just did not win the contest-however, I did gain a significant amount of information to aid me in the future pursuit of the trophy. You see, the loss is often what is needed more than the win, to encourage or rather inspire us to do more than we have done. In other words, had I won, I would have definitely thought that my speech, and my presentation were above all others and needed no refinement. However, as modest as that sounds-insert laughter-I would have been wrong. You see, at times it is just better to lose...you respect the win more, and the possibility of doing so is no longer innate. It is a gift, a reward, a triumph...a grand accomplishment. It is all the more sweeter having lost in the past. Thus, sometimes, to learn how to win you first have to lose. Lose to win...real simple, word.