Effort That Matters Not Win Or Loss

In the finale scene of the Coach Carter movie, Coach Ken Carter goes inside the locker room where all Richmond High players are sitting dejected after losing the final game. It is then Coach Carter said something, something that made players (and also me) to accept what we are most afraid of, the loss. Here, what he said,

“Well… Not quite your storybook ending. Huh. Not for us anyway. But you men played like champions… You never gave up. And champions hold their heads high. What you achieved goes way beyond the win-loss column or what’s gonna be written on the front page of the sports section tomorrow. You’ve achieved something that some people spend their whole lives trying to find… what you achieved is that ever elusive victory within, and gentlemen… I am so proud of you.”

It is all about winning and winning for all of us. It is not your fault, but we are hardwired to think in such a way. We only seek contentment in wins, and profits. The defeat and loss is something to frown upon. It is a crime to be on the losing side. And the only measure for the success is to win, and win at any cost. But what If I tell you, there is a kind of peace in loss also. You can be happy and satisfied even if you are on losing side.

We never think that we are going to lose or fail someday. But we do lose, we do fail. And it’s okay, nothing to cry upon. The fact is winning or losing is not in our hands. What is in our hands? To make the efforts. Like Gandhi has said, “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.” It is effort that matters, not win or loss.

But the above statement should not be misread as an escape to put no effort and not to win. The above statement actually means to seek contentment in the things, we can control, not in things that we cannot. It says to put all the effort, one can, and irrespective of the outcome, one should cherish the fact, he has done something to be proud of. And prepare oneself for the next time, and when the time arrives, go hard as one can go.

As Helen Keller, renowned American author and political activist, once said, “Be of good cheer. Do not think of today’s failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.”

Here is the Coach Carter movie clip

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