Using Failure as an opportunity for change – Defeat Defeatism –

How many times have we heard this before: “Defeat is part of life”, and it's about making the best of it, you may even come out stronger. How logical is it for one to think rational while in this situation? How is that supposed to work?

Failure is not an option

My fight against Anthony Joshua put my life philosophy “Challenge Management” to the test, again. My motto in recent years has been: "Failure is not an Option", this attitude, firm belief, and the knowledge that I will leave the ring as a winner, mostly has worked for me. 

 The duel against AJ in April 2017, which I didn't win, showed me that there is sometimes more to gain in losing, in failing, than in winning. I was obsessed with my goal of getting back the belts of IBF, IBO and WBA, however I fell short. 

Really?

During the fight, I felt this energy from the audience, and through every punch we threw. I sent AJ to the canvas in the sixth round however missed delivering that decisive punch to win the fight.

My opponent recovered faster than I anticipated, showed incredible endurance, and finally, in the eleventh round, I went on the boards twice and the referee stopped the fight. I couldn't believe it: I had lost. And yet: it didn't feel like a defeat. Miraculously, I felt that I had won much more that evening than I could have imagined.

Winning by losing

After almost three decades in high-performance sports, in which I was often accused of winning in principle – I was even called a “machine”, finally, due to my fighting spirit I had won the respect of the audience and the boxing world with this one fight. Despite the defeat, I won.

Hard to believe.That day my motto “Failure is not an Option” became "Failure with Obsession IS an Option" 

Making use of failures

Defeats are only true defeats if we allow them to be judged as such. This defeat made me realize the time had come to fully focus on my second career. In parallel I had a backup plan to my career as a professional boxer. I felt the enthusiasm for this new life growing almost every day, so about 100 days after the fight against AJ I announced my professional boxing career was finished.

I felt it was exactly the right time for this step. I was at peace with myself and with my decision. I knew I was well prepared for this change and therefore I was not afraid of it.

Winds of change

Implementation energy, moving forward towards further development and change, is deeply anchored inside of me and I know that I will always suffer defeats and setbacks. I also know that it is up to me to see a situation as a defeat, a failure or as an opportunity to turn this into something bigger no matter how uncomfortable it may be. 

National Failures Day

National Failure Day, a day dedicated to mistakes and at the same time to the departure to generate success from failure, will be celebrated on August 15. The initiators of this day are convinced that as long as you invest energy into something, you never really fail. So am I. 

Therefore, I decided to spend all of August sharing my opinions, my strategies and mechanisms to deal with this topic. Are you with me? Tell me your story of failure and change.