You missed the shot. Don’t ignore your chance to rebound.

You expected your last shot to be ‘all net’. It turned out to be a brick. Your pride is hurt, and you’re embarrassed. So, your first instinct is to take a quick look around.  To check and see if anyone else witnessed what should’ve been your winning shot turn into an epic failure. That’s too bad — you took your eyes off the ball too soon.

Your first move should’ve been to look inside. Replay your mental reel. See what mistakes you made and more importantly, what lessons you need to learn because of them. And then maybe, just maybe, you could have quickly regrouped, and set yourself up to make an epic rebound. With the same shot you just missed.  

But you’ll never know. Because you lost focus. The game was still going on, the next play in action. Yet, you were stuck worrying about something you couldn’t change instead of looking for an opportunity to regain control.

The fact is, there are lessons in failure that will ultimately bring more value to your life than the satisfaction of success ever will. After all, over time, any player with talent and dedication will eventually make more shots than they will miss. However, the Most Valuable Player — in any game and especially in life — is the person that is capable of reviving hope after everyone else got discouraged and decided to give up. You’re not just any player. You’re an MVP.

It’s time to accept that you will never get another chance to make that shot you missed. It’s possible that others saw you fail. Maybe they didn’t. It’s even possible that someone will remind you of the time you put up that brick. More likely than not, they’ll forget. Probably, a lot sooner than you will. So, you can focus on the mistake or the lesson. But not both. You can replay what went wrong with the intent of beating yourself up, or you review the sequence of events to figure out how you can become better. But you can’t do both.

Remind yourself that you were good enough to make that shot on the first attempt. However, that specific moment wasn’t meant for you. It never was. Regardless of how bad you wanted it. How much you deserved it. But your moment is coming. Believe that. Bet on it even. The question is, will you be ready for it?

You will be if you have the courage to still try. Even after you lose. Especially after you lose. You deserve the joy of experiencing your own rebound. All you need to do is focus on the lessons of the past, not the mistakes, and believe that the opportunity to recover is coming. Maybe a lot sooner than you think.