Our Viewpoint

One of my friends who is a teacher at Thompson Falls High School has a sign in her classroom that reads "10% of life is what happens to you; 90% is how you react to it." I've been thinking about that a lot this last week, and not just as we watch the presidential election unfold.

No one likes to lose. Losing is hard, but try to remember that your reaction to the loss is what really counts and what people really remember. That's the 90% that is going to affect how you move on and how your peers, your community, and your opponent view your loss.

Defeat is hard, especially when it's not in your control. Whether it's in the way a game is officiated or actions of another team, in how people cast votes or how votes are counted from state to state; there are so many factors that go into deciding a winner and a loser. The fact remains, however, that someone has to lose and someone has to win.

How you react to losing, on a national or local level, is what people will remember in the future. Your town, your school or your political party will be branded with a reputation of how you reacted.

It's hard to watch this unfold in high school sports, when you know the kids have worked so hard to get to where they are. Ending a season or a high school career with a loss is heartbreaking. Emotions are mixed with adrenaline and exhaustion. It's a hard lesson to learn to control those emotions. Everyone has meltdowns. If you can process those emotions in private and hold your head up high in public, learn from the experience and move on, that is where true growth and maturity come from.

In competition, someone always wins and someone always loses. For those sports teams or politicians who are done with their seasons or terms, remember the rule of 10-90 and that the 90% matters most.