It's hard for me to even name the kind of loser I'm talking about here.

It's the kind who's so used to being at the top of his or her game that he or she gets hooked into thinking you can't lose and all you have to do is find people who are more skilled in the game of sport than you are.

It takes some serious education for smart people to understand that losing is optional and the only real game in town. One thing that can get you out of this loser's predicament is something we call "negative self-appraisal." You get this in sports where it's called "negative motivation." It's hard for most athletes to see themselves as losers when they've just been on the losing end of a losing play or failed to nail the last kick, etc. But a little negative self-appraisal can often make the difference between going through life and death.

🐎 😛 🥑

I remember my days on the track-and-field team at California State College, Sacramento. Losers all around were the only ones who still had any chance to win it all on the track. I knew the names of the teams that were "the favorites" for the National Championship, and I knew the record times required to run the finals, and I knew precisely how likely it was that I could run the fastest time or, for that matter, the third fastest time in the finals. I knew that I would not win the race, and I accepted that as an established fact and made no secret of it.