To become the best version of yourself it’s advised to attempt to always give your best effort to try to get the best possible place in a race. The more competitive you are the better you become in your area.
However in the grand scheme of things it’s not always best to win every battle itself but rather win the war. For example trying to beat your own weightlifting record just to break a certain number is not worth it if you are getting an injury for it. The same thing counts for having the job that earns the most money but that is unpleasant to do. It will make you unhappy and potentially cause problems down the road. Instead of looking for short time victories look into future what will give your more benefits. Don’t try to have the nicest car in your city, rather go with a smarter options and reap the benefits from this smart decision later.
Loss is part of life. If you don’t have loss, you don’t grow. – Dominick Cruz
The people that become the greatest champions of all time often times have the strongest opponents to beat. For example champions like Ronnie Coleman and Brian shaw have had their strong competitors they had to beat or stay in front of. No champion is ever made without losing at least some battle. When you lose a battle you make sure that you are back on your feat and stronger than ever before. An example of loosing a battle but winning the war is competing against your friend attempting to lift a certain weight. You may not lift the heaviest weight, but if your friend keeps pushing the weight he might get injured. Instead of winning this battle you can choose not to get injured and to continue lifting for many more years.
A different example of taking a loss failing a certain class. This will teach you what you are doing wrong and how to change things next time. On your next go you will have a higher chance to succeed, especially if you put in enough time and effort. If you normally succeed most subjects your school and country may allow to graduate despite failing one class. You could have spend enough time on the subject but it just doesn’t fit with you. Depending on the system in the school there might still be a possibility to graduate.