How do you all deal with losing?

No one likes to lose, at anything, especially at something that you invest so much time
and energy into like many of us do in Canoeing. Yet the reality is that you will not win
every race you are in, not even close. Losing is never the goal and is not something that
you should be looking to settle for, but it will happen sometimes and the sooner that
you can take a loss or set back in a race as a learning experience the sooner you will
become a better athlete. The first thing to remember when you lose a race is that the person
who won deserves your respect and congratulations. If you slap your paddle and make a fuss
about losing you are taking away from another persons accomplishment. Always
congratulate your competitors, shake there hands and allow them there celebration. The next
step is another hard one, when you are ready you have to look at what happened in your
race preparation and during your race and try to identify what you can do better. Sometimes
it is very hard to look at yourself critically when you are still upset about a bad race, but
the ability to figure out your weaknesses are and address them constructively is the key
to developing as an athlete and improving your performance. Finally, remember that
sport is sport and there are worse things in life than losing a race, smile and
get back out there.