Anyone who lived through high school gym class knows the anxiety of being picked last for the dodgeball team. The same hurt feelings bubble up when you are excluded from lunch with co-workers, fail to land the job you interviewed for or are dumped by a romantic partner.

Rejection feels lousy.

“I’ve wanted to go to the Olympics since London 2012. I was 11 then, so I’ve been dreaming of these Games for nine long years. My tears fell because it felt like I had wasted my time. There was no consoling me in those lonely moments.”

Instead, let’s just make a decision, and move on. Let go of the stress about whether it’s the right choice (there’s no such thing) and instead deal with whatever consequences we face. And learn to trust that we’ll be OK.

In his latest book, The Hero Code, Lessons Learned From Lives Well Lived - he talks about the hero in all of us and how it’s woven in our DNA. The year was 1963 when he was traveling with his father in New York City. Have a listen.

Adrenaline a.k.a Epinephrine is a chemical that increases the heart rate and blood pressure and so during say a Tennis tournament that you played over the weekend and lost maybe badly? our hearts beat faster because basically we're striving to get to the Finals, get the achievement and if we lose, we get angry at the player whose got the achievements. I can tell that I’m getting much better at dealing with my losses. How? I did not waste a single second, I signed up for another tournament and back up on the horse I go.

I realize there’s something incredibly honest about trees in winter, how they’re experts at letting things go.

Once you realize you deserve a bright future, letting go of your dark past is the best choice you will ever make.

Habit resilience is the ability to bounce back when things don’t go as you planned, to stay positive, to encourage yourself, to forgive yourself, to be loving and compassionate with yourself, to shake it off and start again afresh. To learn and grow from struggles.

When going into battle, the wisest general learns to know his enemy very, very well. You can’t defeat the enemy without knowing him. And when you’re trying to overcome a negative self-image and replace it with self-confidence, your enemy is yourself.

We have to be willing to operate with inadequate resources, trusting that, you know they'll be picked up along the way. And that's a lot to take in. It's painful to know that others are going to have knowledge and skills and competencies that you wont.

I am genuinely curious - What it would be like for you? You work hard, you fall short, and you don’t feel bad about it. You just keep trying your best. You keep failing, but see it as learning and growth. You keep deviating from your plan, but don’t feel that there’s anything wrong with you.