"If you win I'll give you one present, if you lose I'll give two"

I’m fortunate indeed to be on Shawn Moody’s email list for his Gamespeed newsletter. Not only is Shawn’s mantra, ‘Do everything with conviction,’ a constant reminder to me to never lessen my intent, his articles and references are extremely relevant and valuable.

After receiving Shawn’s last newsletter, I made the time to follow up on Gamespeed’s recommended links. One link of particular interest was a Gracie web site reference pertaining to diet and nutrition. The Gracie’s methodologies have always been of immense interest to me. When I was trawling through the information there, I came across the above quote. It is from Helio Gracie, the founder of Gracie Jui Jitsu.

The quote above is purported to be Helio’s philosophy when his sons went into a fight. Of course Helio liked his sons to win, but understood the immense value in losing. Helio understood the lessons losing would bring, and so encouraged his sons by presenting them with gifts when they lost. This in turn encouraged them to explore the lessons in losing, to improve and to ensure they were used as a springboard for personal development.

On page 55 of Brutal Training’s quote book, ‘Start Walking,’ you’ll find the following quote:

“Like everyone else, you want to learn the way to win, but never accept to lose. To accept defeat, to learn to die is to be liberated from it. So, when tomorrow comes, you must free your ambitious mind and learn the art of dying.”

It is the fear of defeat that keeps our mind on it. If you can accept loss in advance, or, as in Helio’s case, embrace loss, then you will free your mind to be completely absorbed in the present moment. I call this the fostering of ‘pure intent’. This is intent without ego mind’s interference.

“But do not make a plan of biting; it’s a very good way to lose your teeth.”
Bruce Lee

Understand however, that this is not a ‘tool’ that you can use to achieve a better state of performance. I have seen many cases where the ego mind of the athlete jumps in and says something like:

“If I accept defeat in advance, then my mind will become free from fear and I’ll get into the zone and win.”

The athlete then has half an eye on whether the ‘acceptance of defeat’ is ‘working’, in terms of helping them win. This is insincere. This is lying to oneself.

Or, the athlete will be losing and say:

“I embrace losing, so it’s ok. I don’t care if I lose.”

Truth exists in paradox. It is the resolution of paradox that is beyond mind and plays host to present moment awareness. Not only must you learn how to lose, you must do so until you are not afraid of losing. This is from the heart, not the mind. You must then give absolutely everything you have to every moment free of the burden of fear of defeat. As an athlete, you must try to win with everything you have. Say to yourself,

“No matter how well I play today, I’m going to lose. I am going to be beaten to a pulp on the battlefield. I will be embarrassed and humiliated. But I choose to play anyway. I chose to persevere no matter what. I chose to persevere until ‘winning chooses me’. My mind cannot decide when I will win. It is only through sincerity and pure intent that I may open the door for the spirit of winning to shine through me. I am but a vessel for its expression.”

Now get out there and get your ass kicked…