You set out to achieve greatness, and you’ve come up short.⁣ ⁣You met your match. You now realize that you gave it your all, and your all just wasn’t enough.⁣ And it hurts.⁣ It hurts badly.⁣ Worse than anything you have ever felt before.⁣ There is only one thing left to do –⁣ Trust in the process.⁣

⁣It has to hurt.⁣

⁣For the hurt that festers in your soul gets converted to drive, hard work, and ambition.⁣ All are vital ingredients needed to propel you to the next level.⁣ There is only 1 team per year that win their last game of the season.⁣

⁣All the rest will end their season with a loss.⁣ But don’t let a loss defeat you.⁣ Especially twice.⁣ You will learn more from your losses than you ever will from your wins.⁣

⁣Let the loss hurt.⁣

⁣When it hurts, it means you care.⁣ When you care, you will figure it out.⁣ Rededicate yourself.⁣ I needn’t remind you that you didn’t set out to achieve something ordinary.⁣

⁣You set out to accomplish something extraordinary.⁣

⁣Therefore, it is going to require an extraordinary effort.⁣ One, which separates yourself from others.⁣ And those others, are hungry lacrosse players who are willing and able to go through physical and mental torture. ⁣

⁣So stand back up.⁣

⁣First, look back, and see how far you’ve come.⁣ Then look ahead, and see how much further there is to go. ⁣I guarantee the shorter distance is the one ahead of you.⁣

⁣Discouragement is a dream chaser.⁣

⁣Shelve the feelings of discouragement and just focus on the work.⁣ Lacrosse is the greatest sport on earth for the sole reason that the people who are willing to work will see success.⁣

⁣It is not a matter of if –⁣ But when.⁣

⁣Be relentless in the pursuit of your goal.⁣ ⁣Make your will the strongest part of your makeup.⁣ There is a reason why you are going through what you are.⁣

⁣Believe that.⁣

⁣Everything happens for a reason; else it would have happened differently.⁣ There is something that you need to learn to prepare you for what is to come.⁣ Inspect what that reason may be.⁣

⁣Embrace it.⁣

⁣Understand there is still more to be learned.⁣ Concentrate on progress and not perfection.⁣ Count the times you gave 100% for 60 minutes this year.⁣ Then top that effort next year.⁣

⁣That’s it.⁣ It’s that simple.⁣ You will get there.⁣ Hurt is an indispensable part of the formula for greatness.⁣

⁣A loss is not where the journey ends.⁣

It is where the initiation into greatness begins.⁣