Life in sports is generally composed by lots of training, tiredness, pain, victories and, among all of that, the dreadful losses. Actually, the athletes should not be that afraid of them. After all, everyone who is on a competition, whether or not he/she is the favorite in their category or the most prepared one, is subject to win or lose. Great athletes, when mentioning some losses along their careers, always tell that those were the moments when they most learned.

But why would they say that? It’s because the psychology factor in each athlete must also be trained.  However, it’s rare – when it comes to Jiu-Jitsu – to find fighters who have a regular support from a sport psychologist. A good physical health may not mean a good mental one. And it is within this decompensation between body and mind that we see potential great athletes in Jiu-Jitsu – and in many other sports – to give up even before actually getting started with their journey.

A good example of people who may give up after being defeated only once is the resigned ones. Those are the typical guys who may be constantly wining and then get over-relaxed on their trainings, lose their humbleness and imagine themselves as invincible. By being this way, they may fall in their own and ridiculous ego. When they are put outside their comfort zone by a loss, they convert that in the worst thing in the Earth.

Life is a learning process. If you lost today, go back to your trainings tomorrow and try to review your errors. Reflect about the result. Analyze your own conduct as a sportsman and think about what you had been doing and if that would actually correspond to the highest position in the podium. How not to be trapped in the mind issues? It’s simple. As Master Carlos Gracie taught us: “Every adversary you do not know must be faced as the worst and most difficult”. Always work hard, regardless victories or losses. And when you win, train even harder. If the victory did not come at that time, learn how to pan for gold from the loss wrecks.