You’ll come to see that a man learns nothing from winning. The act of losing, however, can elicit great wisdom – not least of which is how much more enjoyable it is to win. It’s inevitable to lose now and again. The trick is, not to make a habit of it.
– Uncle Henry, A Good Year
This quote comes from one of my favorite sappy movies, A Good Year. It comes at the end of a tennis match in which the main character, Max, loses to his Uncle Henry. Henry, whose own path suggests Max’s own future in the plot, imparts a bit of wisdom on the young boy.
Here is a link to the clip, if you’d like to watch it.
I like everything about the clip, except perhaps the bit about not making a habit of losing. I absolutely think we should make a habit of losing – or more specifically, failing. But in doing so, we should develop our skills in failing in a way that propels us in the direction we want to go.
Reclaiming Failure 