The stepping-stone to success!

A sportsman cannot succeed until he fails! Far too many youngsters, who dream of making it big in state level or international sport, are scared of failure. They measure their self worth with their performance in their chosen sport. They think their bad performance on a given day is a cause for shame and that they may not be as good as they believe themselves to be. Nothing can be farther from the truth. If you want to become a great sportsman then you have got to fail, and you have got to learn to take the failure for what it is worth.
Sport is a learning process. You get better as you work harder and learn more about yourself and your sport. If you don't fail, you will never know want you lack and the pitfalls that your sport presents from time to time. The FEEDBACK that you get from failure is very important for your mental processes to look for better ways of tackling the problem the next time round. Let's be practical. No one likes to fail or lose. In fact, failure stinks! But if you want to improve and grow in your sport, then you have got to take failure in your stride and learn from it.
It is very important not to measure your self worth from your performances. You may be playing against an opponent who is much stronger or is more experienced. You may be having an off day, when your body just doesn't respond to the demands of your mind. The conditions may be favouring your opponent. All sports are a test of your body as well as your mind. If you sulk after failure, you are not doing your self-esteem any good. Moreover, DON'T MEASURE YOUR SELF-WORTH FROM ONE PERFORMANCE.
Accept your failures, learn from them and then leave them in the past where they belong. Remember, FAILURE IS FEEDBACK and feedback is what is going to take you to the top!!