The Five Stages of Loss: Warrior Mind Podcast #476

Over

six years and going strong!  With over 1M

downloads from over 15 countries and 7 continents’…. this is the Warrior Mind

Podcast.

In

this episode of the Warrior Mind Podcast I’m going to be talking about the five

stages of loss we experience whether it be sport, business of life. 

The

Five Stages of Loss

During competition

(especially during the Open), there are times when giving our best doesn’t

guarantee a win. The problem is that no matter what we are doing, there is

always someone who is faster, stronger or has more drive. When a loss occurs,

we take it personally and begin the grieving process of the loss, especially in

a major competition.

You need to realize these emotions are good. From them, you harbor the drive to do better next time. When you’ve completed the stages of loss, you’ll pick yourself up and work harder to win at the next competition. But what these stages look like?

* Denial and Isolation

The first stage of loss is

denial. There is a disbelief that having given your all, you didn’t win the

competition. You may look at the situation and feel like you’ve been jilted and

robbed from having the title. You may even feel that a ref made a bad call and

cost you the competition. Denial can come in many forms, but it doesn’t change

the outcome.

* Anger

Once you’ve worked past the

denial that you’ve lost, anger sets in. There is an inner fire that burns. You

may become aggressive and get into shouting matches with others. Some athletes

throw balls, helmets and bats in a rage. They may also threaten to quit or

storm out of an area as things escalate.

Enjoy

this podcast on the five stages of loss

* Bargaining

The next item in the stages

of loss is bargaining with a higher power. This is the belief that despite all

the suffering in the world, that God’s main focus is listening to your loss and

making it better. The outcome might change such as a revelation of illegal

substance abuse from the opponent. You may offer to donate a portion of your

winnings to charity. Go to church next Sunday. Even name drop him in high

profile interviews.

* Depression

Realizing that the denial,

anger and bargaining didn’t work, you slip into the next progression in the

stages of loss. That’s depression. Here, you hit an emotional low. You might

begin to lead yourself to believe others view you as the world player of all

time. That your time in the sun is over. That perhaps it is time to hang up your

hat and call it quits. However, you need to remember that this is a single

competition and the next one things might go your way.

* Acceptance

At this point, you’ve

accepted that you’ve suffered a loss as a competition. You understand that a

loss doesn’t define your abilities. Instead, you realize this is a chance to

pick yourself up off the ground and to reevaluate your situation. You use this

opportunity to improve your game face and you train harder than you do did the

last time. The result is that when you enter the next competition, you are

ready to take on and this time succeed.

Through the stages of loss,

athletes are able to learn from their failures and turn things aro...