WORDS OF INSPIRATION: Dealing with a loss

What you’ll read below is a piece written by my friend, MMA fighter Nick Palmer, for MNMMANEWS.com. Nick fights with one hand — he does not have a fully developed right hand as a result of a condition called Symbrachydactyly. His fight nickname is “The Inspiration.” Once you read his piece, you’ll know exactly why.

Written by Nick Palmer

Thursday, 17 July 2014 20:05

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week Minnesota standout amateur fighter Nick “The Inspiration” Palmer is given a free pass to write about any topic, and he’ll provides Minnesota MMA fans with an inside look into the world of fighting. Enjoy “Words of Inspiration.”)

It’s always tough taking a loss.

I’d say the first few moments directly after losing a fight are the worst. At least for me they are.

I start to feel like people won’t take me seriously if I continue to lose. I don’t go out there and intentionally lose or anything, and I can honestly say that I give it my all when I’m in there.

Of course, I feel like I can give a little more each time, and that’s what I try to do, but there just are certain instances when I can’t win, no matter what I do.

I can’t sit and dwell on it for too long, though. I think it’s important to forget about the losses just as fast as I forget about the wins, and move on to the next one as quickly as possible.

Dissect the film, look at the pictures, figure out what I did well, what I can improve on and get right back in the gym. That’s my motto.

As much as I hate to lose, it’s not the worst thing that can happen. You have to find the good in the bad.

After this fight, it was pretty easy for me to find the good. Besides some of the things I did in the cage, like score a solid takedown, that even I didn’t see coming, or the way I worked on the ground compared to previous fights, I had one of the best moments of my life after my fight.

Let me explain.

A lady and an older gentleman approached me and asked if I would take a picture with their son and said it would mean a lot to him and them. They pointed over to their son, who was wheelchair bound.

His mother said that he had one of his legs recently amputated, and I also noticed that he suffered from some sort of mental condition. I want to say some sort of cerebral palsy, but I’m no doctor and I was afraid to ask.

As I knelt down next to this young man and had my picture taken with him, I realized losing my fight wasn’t so bad. I told the kid’s mother that her son was the real fighter, because he’s fighting a battle everyday.

I brought tears to this woman’s eyes when I said that, but I truly meant it. The kid’s father or maybe grandfather (not sure who he was) said that was the best picture he had taken all day, and they would cherish it.

I wish I would have asked them to send me a copy because I will forever cherish that moment, too.

That’s why I do this. Win, lose or draw, I just want to put smiles on people’s faces and give others a little bit of hope.

As much as I hate to lose, it could always be worse. If you can, go out there and make a difference in someone’s life because you’ll also make a difference in your own.