Who dares wins: The importance of defeat in being successful

It does not matter who you are, what you do, or how successful you are perceived to be by yourself or by those around you: if you have ever endeavored at anything important in life, then you have likely suffered a defeat. In fact, you have probably been defeated or failed at several things along your path. One can probably safely state that the only people who have never failed in any meaningful way in life are those who have never strived to do or be something meaningful.

“Who dares wins” is the motto of the British Special Air Service (SAS), one of the premier special operations forces in the world. The motto is not meant to convey that simply daring to do something means you will win – quite the opposite: you must first dare defeat in order to win. You will at times suffer defeat, though, if you dare the odds enough times. I guarantee it.

History is replete with such examples. The Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War, which proved the colonials could hold their own against the British army and which united the colonies in the ultimately victorious cause, was still a defeat. Abraham Lincoln was defeated in 26 elections before becoming president. The 1940 evacuation at Dunkirk, which saved over 335,000 soldiers and thus preserved the Allied war effort in World War II, is widely considered by historians to be a miracle of effort and planning. However, it was still a military defeat. Michael Jordan missed 26 different game-winning shots with which his team had entrusted him.

I will never forget one of the two enlisted men in my BUD/S class who made it straight through to graduation without failure or being rolled back. It was his third time attempting BUD/S, having been rolled out after Hell Week the previous two times he tried due to pneumonia. Yes, he completed Hell Week three times. That is an incredible feat in and of itself, and had he been afraid of yet more failure he might never have attempted that third and final go.

Related: How Navy SEAL candidates recover after Hell Week

The point is this: you cannot be afraid to fail in life. Does it suck? Absolutely. You will feel dejected and like all of your hard work and preparation was for nothing. You will be sick to your stomach seeing others succeed who you know are inferior to you in preparation and maybe even skill.

You will want to give up on the whole endeavor, angry at the injustice of it all, and determined to “just do something else.” Don’t. Stay with it. Give it your all. Put in the work. Try over and over again. If at some point it just doesn’t happen, then at least you will know that you gave it your all and won’t doubt your effort. You will know it was just not meant to be. Make sure when you reach that point, though, that you can live with that fact. But if any doubt remains, then try again.

Michael Jordan surely did not doubt that he could make those game-winning shots better than anyone else on his (or any other) team. He did not let those 26 failures stop him. He did not give up in a puddle of self-pity. He got back out there and he won games. Go win yours.

Feature Image: Pfc. Victor Vasquez and Spc. Christian Kerkado-Colon run with Spc. Alexander Haydon as he finishes the two-mile run portion of the Army Combat Fitness Test. The ACFT was one of many events that challenged Soldiers during the AMC Best Warrior Competition, held from July 25-28, 2021, at Camp Atterbury, Ind. (U.S. Army photo by Samantha Tyler)

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