What is Defeat?

Here is the new PotM (picture of the month) that I chose for this go around, Bruce Lee and his quote "What is defeat?". Defeat, or failure, is something that we will all experience during our life times and how we respond to it will have a drastic influence on the outcome of our success in the future.

Before I delve completely into the meaning behind this quote from Bruce Lee I wanted to talk a little about the man himself. Bruce Lee was born in Chinatown, San Francisco on 27 November 1940. His parents moved back to China and he was raised in Kowloon until the age of 18. Bruce Lee then moved to America to go to college and try to make it on his own. To help pay his way in America he started teaching martial arts. He initially learned Wing Chun style in China but went on to develop his own style of martial arts known today as Jeet Kun Do. Bruce Lee is well known for such movies as Enter the Dragon, The Big Boss, and Game of Death. Bruce Lee Died on July 20, 1973 shortly after finishing the the film Game of Death. Though Bruce Lee's life was short, as he died at the age of 32, he accomplished many great things for the world of martial arts and the way westerners viewed people of Asian descent. Undoubtedly Bruce Lee knew very well the harsh taste of defeat in both his martial arts and in his personal life, however he chose to use it rather than be dragged down by it. His philosophy and way of life, I believe, go to show the validity of this statement that he has made about "What is Defeat".

The full statement is "What is Defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better.". To me this is about how, in our own lives, we view defeat or failures. Many people, in my experience, think that a defeat or a failure is a bad thing and that it means we can not accomplish what we set out to do. This statement is implying that defeat as a bad thing is completely incorrect, which I agree with 100%. If we let it, defeat or failure will surely get us down and make overcoming things harder because we let it affect our determination and mentality. Instead if we approach defeats or failures like Bruce Lee suggests in his quote as education we can use these and learn from them. If we learn from our defeats and failures instead of letting them overwhelm us we come out the other end of the situation as a wiser and stronger individual (whether that is physically or mentally). This is how we can take these negative situations and turn them into positives to move on towards something better.

I truly believe the greatest people throughout history are people who do exactly this and learn from their defeats and failures and go on to overcome them. As an example take Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln went into bankruptcy twice, failed to get elected multiple times, and the first lady he was engaged to died before they were married. Even with all these trials and hardships throughout his life he wound up becoming one the most influential and remembered US Presidents in history.

Defeat or failure can happen for us numerous ways when it comes to learning how to become fit or lose weight, but remember folks just because you experience a defeat or a failure doesn't mean it is the end of things. Stand up, learn from it, and continue to press on towards completing your goals and dreams!! I hope in the future I will continue to learn from my defeats and that you all will too.