"You Cannot Gain Until You Lose" --Buddha

My students (who are also happily my daughters)

This last Fall, my students began to get serious about their training. They had worked hard and improved a lot. They went into the competitive season thinking they were going to trounce their competitors. All their effort would surely pay off on competition day, right?  Well things don't always work out as planned.  They skated well, but their competition skated better and we were beaten badly.
It was time to go back and figure out what went wrong. We analyzed video, refined technique, worked on speed, and spent more time on the ice than we thought possible. They were determined to be on top the next time.  
Over the weekend they had the chance to compete again.  This time their scores reflected their determination and they came in first and second. We happily celebrated.  But I also thought about the Buddha's saying (which I had just learned of), "One cannot gain until first he loses everything".  I realized that they needed to lose.  They needed to understand what was lacking and have the determination to make it to number 1.  Sometimes as  parents and coaches we try to shelter kids from losses, but maybe kids need to feel the pain of losing to become successful.    

Kathy