Losing is a bummer. There's no way around it, is there?
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The Newcastle Knights have lost four in a row. Their finals hopes have taken a hit and fans are dejected after riding the high of a six-game winning streak earlier in the season.
The highs and lows of sport - the emotions that come with victory and defeat - can be like riding a roller coaster. You're up, you're down. You're happy, you're sad. You're elated, you're frustrated.
Perhaps it's time to turn to martial arts for a bit of perspective.
Joe Rogan, a comedian and jiu-jitsu black belt, led us in this direction. On his podcast, he said defeat was "humbling" and "very good for you".
Defeat is good for you? What?
We asked Kelly O'Brien a bit more about this concept. She teaches martial arts at Imugi Taekwondo in Medowie.
Kelly said an obsession with winning was "not very healthy".
"You learn more about yourself from losing. We use the old philosophy, 'you win or you learn'," she said.
"Every step is part of your journey. If you go in a competition and you lose, that's just part of the journey."
Thing is, the desire to win is embedded in the human psyche. It seems like a primal drive linked to survival.
But there's also a desire to do well - to produce a quality performance. Does feeling good about a sporting performance rely on winning or losing? And should we tie our wellbeing to our team's fortunes?
Some see winning as a bonus - the cherry on top of the cake. But they're in the minority. The truth is, most competitors and fans would rather win and play poorly than lose and play well.
Kelly, though, said it's better to have lost knowing you did well, than win a hollow victory because you know you didn't do your personal best or didn't deserve to win.
"It's never about the [trophy] bling, it's always about your own performance," she said.
Daniele Bolelli, author of On the Warrior's Path: Philosophy, Fighting and Martial Arts, perceives victory and defeat to be "largely out of my control".
"But putting up a good fight, putting up the kind of fight that makes the earth shake and the gods blush, this I can do," he said.
"I don't think too many human beings are naturally above caring about victory and defeat. It's imprinted in us to care about the outcome of our actions.
"While this may be natural and normal, the problem is that we can never fully control the outcome. Usually, in life there are too many variables at play.
"So, no matter how mightily we strive or how intense our effort, odds are that at least some of the time we will come up short of our goals."
He added that the more attached you are to the outcome, the more tension and fear you will experience at "the thought of possibly facing a crushing defeat".
"This reduces our effectiveness, since part of our energy is trapped in the jaws of fear. Paradoxically, the more you focus on giving your all rather than the outcome, the less fear will hold you prisoner.
"The less fear holds you prisoner, the higher the odds that you will perform at your peak potential and actually get the outcome you desire."
As for Knights fans locked into the roller coaster, let's hope they can at least enjoy the ride. A win could be around the next corner.
Sesame Street Dreams
Sleep deprivation can do strange things.
Kelly O'Brien discovered this during a 24-hour taekwondo marathon at Medowie at the weekend.
"Sesame Street puppets became a feature at 4am on Sunday," she said.
Somebody said something that sounded like the Yips Yips, also known as the Martians, from Sesame Street.
Suddenly the Yip Yips' catchphrase: "Yep, yep, yep, yep, nope, nope, nope, nope" was echoing through the dojang at Imugi Taekwondo at an ungodly hour.
Sesame Street memories from childhood had popped out of the subconscious.
Kelly also experienced a different kind of rest. Her body felt like it was sleeping, but her mind was awake.
Five participants, including Kelly, completed the full 24 hours. With three on the taekwondo mat at a time, two could take short breaks in between sparring rounds.
"I learnt how to sleep for 30 seconds and get back up again," she said.
"I felt relaxed but I had to stay conscious of what was going on. I couldn't actually go to sleep because that would make it worse.
"Everything was switched off, but I could hear everything going on. It was kind of crazy."
Dozens of others joined in periodically to lend support during the marathon event, which unofficially broke the world record for the longest continuous sparring session.
More than $2500 was raised to help complete a documentary about women and girls in martial arts.