Any game I lost as an athlete, the scars don’t heal. Ever.

Even if the career of the guy who won ended briefly after.

Even if my team won the championship after that regular season L.

Even if there was some shady shit happening that made the game turn out how it did.

I used to rationalize losses to make myself feel better. That way the situation wouldn’t eat at me and I could sleep at night.

Sleeping is a good thing, but in doing such rationalizing, I also lost a bit of the drive I would’ve had to make sure something like that didn’t happen again.

Which is why I no longer settle for moral victories.

I’m in battles right now, in which I could easily point to actual facts that make the battle itself less important. I’ve done just that in the past.

No more. For me, or for you.