Afterthought: THE AGONY OF DEFEAT

By Julius R. Paner

Dealing with the agony of defeat varies depending on the people’s perspective about it. Some consider it a cornerstone to a more valuable performance of future undertakings. Others view it as a way to boost self-confidence while most of us outline defeat as a thing that is really hard to bear, thinking that having it means the end of the world already. 

Personally I had my share of troubles in my life dealing the agony of defeat. Just recently my favorite NBA team Oklahoma City Thunders vowed to the defending champions Golden State Warriors in a hotly-contested Western Conference Finals. When they were up 3-1 in the series, all I thought the Thunders could continue a gorgeous run of the underdog, dating back its mastery over the mighty San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the 2016 NBA playoffs. Alas, they stumbled in an all-important game 7, a thing I thought of could replenish the grief I felt of some bad news at home. This loss is an affirmation of the cruel side of life. Sports is such that almost always, it imitates life. Just when you thought you could have that blaze of glory, it just suddenly evaporated like a soap bubble. Life is uncouth. 

Sometimes we are tempted not to see the beauty of losing because we always want to win in whatever battles we embark on. We do not know that defeat exists even before we knew it. It is as old as civilization. We tend to always overlook its possibility although we know deep inside it is as inevitable as victory. 

To some extent, Philippine politicians are no exemptions. They quarrel over and over again because nobody wants to embrace setback. They even resort carnage of political rivals just to dwell with their contemplation of triumph. In the local setting, I have learned that there are politicians filing complaints and protests left and right here, claiming that they were cheated during the recently-concluded local and national elections. On the hefty load, some losing candidates accused their opponents of cheating and of being dishonest and insincere.

One of the quotes I like from Wilma Rodulf is this one, “Winning is great, sure, but if you are going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.  Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.”

To all my friends who lose last election, it is not the end of the world yet my friends. You have made another significant milestone in your lives by participating that race. There is no harm in trying, indeed. The most harmful part of life is not trying at all. Even if we lose for the most part of our tries, let us all remember that we cannot define victory without suffering defeats. After all, every loss, every sorrow, every setback is an opportunity to sow the seed of learning and making better performance next time.