#Defeat April 7

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The first week of April saw several college basketball teams notably U.C.L.A., Gonzaga, and Arizona (Women’s Team) all suffer a DEFEAT in the 2021 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Each of the coaches on the losing end spoke brilliantly after the game that one loss does not define their team.

Suffering a DEFEAT can be a painful dark place that everyone has to go thru. A DEFEAT means experiencing emotions like grief, anger, frustration, doubt, fear of being inadequate, and disappointment. When you spend a majority of your professional life in athletics you get to experiment with how to deal with DEFEAT. The only method that worked for me was to accept I didn’t control everything in my life. That is a hard pill to swallow. I came to the realization I could work hard on changing things I did control and that most certainly included my attitude. When you suffer a DEFEAT you have to remind yourself any change in future results has to START with you working on what you can control.

Some DEFEATS come about from areas I have no control over. For those I pray. I know God has a wonderful plan for my life but more than once I have been reminded its not always my plan.

A song that sums up the occasional disappointments and DEFEATS of life is “Sometimes it’s a Bitch”. The song was  written by Bon Jovi and performed by Stevie Nicks. Here is a link to the complete lyrics of the song.

I particularly like this part of the song:

I tried to dance with
What life had to hand me
And if I could
I’d do it all over again

Sometimes it’s a bitch
Sometimes it’s a breeze
Sometimes love’s blind
And sometimes it sees
Sometimes it’s roses
And sometimes it’s weeds
Sometimes it’s a bitch
Sometimes it’s a breeze

If you are dealing with a DEFEAT don’t let it define you. Rely on prayer and if needed the power of a song.