Introduction

It’s the AFC divisional series. Veiled in snowfall, seventy thousand exuberant fans pack the seats of Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The Baltimore Ravens are set to take on the Buffalo Bills in a bout that will pit two MVP frontrunners against each other, with a ticket to the conference championship on the line. The game was neck and neck, with stunning performances from players on both teams. Now, the Ravens are down 19-27 with 1:44 left in the third quarter. That was, until Lamar Jackson threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Tight End Isaiah Likely. Now, they were down by only two points. Knowing that opting to kick an extra point would only get them one point, they had to go for the two-point conversion to tie up the game. Therefore, down by two, the Baltimore Ravens lined up at the two-yard line, hoping to secure their spot in the conference championship.

Boos roar down from the stands from Bills fans as the much less-concentrated population flock of Ravens fans hope for success. With the play clock running down, the ball is snapped, and Tight End Mark Andrews runs open into the end zone. Seeing that he’s open, Jackson throws the ball to him. The ball soars through the air to Andrews. It goes right into his hands, it’s a surefire touchdown. The Ravens should tie it up, but no. The ball falls through Andrew’s hand, and they fall short of winning. After the game, Mark Andrews was gutted at his performance, but vowed to come back better than he’s ever been before.

In sports, we are destined to make mistakes. We often resort to self-criticism during difficult times, but it’s important to remember that while it’s okay to feel disappointed, we don’t have to stay stuck in those feelings. Things might not always go as planned, but with time, support, and self-compassion, we can grow through the challenges and come back stronger in our own way. In these situations, practicing mindfulness teaches us how to avoid dwelling on the past and to realize that what is done is done. It is useless to stress over what we can no longer control, and using mindfulness, we can learn how to harness failure as a tool for success.

Acknowledge Defeat

In sports competitions, every athlete aspires to come out on top, but since there can usually be only one champion, the experience of failure is almost inevitable. To deal with this, we need to acknowledge our emotions. By reminding ourselves that it’s okay to feel disappointment, anger, or embarrassment, we can process our feelings in a healthier way, rather than suppressing them.

This is where you could practice the concept of self-affirmations, in which they’ve been shown to help deal with negative feelings, thoughts, and situations. One affirmation you can try is:

“I am allowed to feel upset, angry, and sad sometimes—that’s part of being human.”

This will allow us to better contextualize our situation and to move on with a better attitude.

Ground Yourself in the Present

After acknowledging the situation, we can work on some grounding exercises in order to tether ourselves back to reality. These can help us remember that whether you win or lose in a game, the world is still spinning, and everything is going to be ok. Some grounding exercises that I recommend are the breathing exercises on the StayMindful app, or some outdoor grounding, like going for a nature walk or yoga outside.

Learn From Your Mistakes

Now, since we’ve acknowledged our situations and grounded ourselves, we can use failure as a teachable moment that will help us cultivate improvement. Each time you fail, there’s a way in which you can improve and become better. For instance, if I’m in a basketball game and I miss both of my free throws, I’ve learned that those shots are something I need to work on, and I will get better at my free-throw shooting to improve my basketball ability.

Conclusion

We tend to get down on ourselves when we experience failure in sports. I’ve been there before, and I’m sure that most of you have been there as well. In those moments, we must remember to acknowledge our mistakes, ground ourselves, and then see how we can improve in the future.