There are winners and losers in every sport, game, competition and etc. The question is why do we feel the need to win and why do we think it’s a bad thing to lose.
Just because the score says you have won doesn’t mean you’re always going to feel like a “winner.” You could win something and still feel like you didn’t meet your expectations on how you wanted to play or be as successful as you wanted to in that moment. Just because the score says you have lost doesn’t mean you have to feel like a “loser.” You could do the best, you can try your hardest and still lose.
According to the online article, “Why You Need To Win” medically reviewed by Poonam Sachdev, “Your desire to win could be related to a chemical in your brain called dopamine, which is linked to pleasure.”
So when someone wins, the brain releases Dopamine which usually triggers a feeling of satisfaction or reward, and although this may be true that is not always the case.
According to the article, “Why Success Doesn’t Lead To Satisfaction” by Ron Carucci, “Our brains’ reward system, especially the neurotransmitter dopamine, drives us to achieve goals and rewards us with a great sense of pleasure when we do. But that pleasure is short lived, as our brains are hardwired to also seek balance from extreme emotional states. That leaves us with an empty longing to repeat whatever experience brought us that pleasure in the first place.”
Eighth grade science teacher Paul Neatrour has been coaching baseball for 28 years and gave some insight on winning and losing.
“The benefit of losing is you get to experience adversity and learn how to overcome it, and the benefit of winning is it reinforces your belief in your abilities,” said Neatrour.
Neatrour says the way he keeps his teams motivated is to make sure his players set goals for themselves and work hard to achieve them.
Neatrour also played baseball when he was in school and even made it to the Hall Of Fame!
“As a coach, I take losing a little bit more to heart because it’s a combination of everything: where I played it was more of just me sometimes. I knew I did everything I could, and I didn’t feel terrible about losing,” said Neatrour.
It’s always good to get an opinion from student-athletes as well when it comes to winning and losing.
Eighth grade track star Emma Etters states that her coaches encourage and push her to be the best that she can be to help her overcome obstacles and tough losses
Etters said, “A lot of the times, they see what I’m capable of before I see it, so they make sure I reach the goals I need to.”
Etters says she doesn’t actually have a specific way to overcome obstacles, but that having a routine is important. And that she tries to make sure she practices a lot like getting a run in every day and making sure to stretch before running, because if she doesn’t she’ll be sore when racing.
