Losing could be better. Like winning. Anyone who says otherwise isn’t speaking honestly. Or they’re deluding themselves. No one wants to lose, ever. Not getting the promotion you’ve worked hard for also hurts. Here are ten ways you can win big when you lose.

1. You win big if you learn something.

If everybody loses at one time or another, the key is to profit from the experience. If all you do is complain about your bad luck or wrong timing, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Figure out what went wrong and learn from it. As long as you come away with a better understanding of what caused this failure, you’re one step ahead when doing it better the next time. Already you’ve turned a loss into the first part of a big win.

2. Losing can spur you to renew your commitment.

How much do you want to succeed at the action or endeavor you failed? With the right mindset –wanting a successful outcome – you can rededicate yourself and renew your commitment to the goal. This is part of what it takes to develop a winning strategy and reinforce a winning mentality. It is another way to win big if you lose.

3. After you lose, call on your strengths.

Losing isn’t pleasant in the best of times. In the worst times, losing can seem like the world is against you. Don’t fall prey to that self-defeating line of thinking. Instead, list your strengths and begin to make use of them. Some, no doubt, are strengths you haven’t used for a long time or ever.

This is the time to call on your strengths, for they will help you reinvigorate your willingness to challenge yourself to win again.

4. Remember, you never give up.

This isn’t the first time you’ve been on the losing end of a situation. Even if this is your first recorded loss, the point is that you know it’s not in you to give up. Those little hurdles you put forth such effort to overcome and continued despite how tough it was? Those were little losses, but you remained steadfast and refused to give up.

You will win again with this can-do attitude. Keep at it, and you’ll be at the finish line before you know it.

5. Competition makes you sharp.

If everyone had the same amount of talent and ability, the world would be a boring place. Thankfully, there’s competition. When you’re engaged competitively in the same endeavor or pursuit, seeing what others do significantly sharpens your skills, amplifies your determination and motivation, and keeps you engaged.

Do you want to succeed? Are you in it to win? Pay attention to your competition, even the competition you instill in yourself, and you’ll soon win again.

6. You have greater compassion – because you know how losing feels.

No one likes an arrogant winner. It takes humility – losing – to realize how it feels not to succeed. Since you have lost, you now know how the other person feels. This helps make you a better person, one with compassion and empathy. When you’re in the winner’s circle again, this compassion will help keep your inflated ego at bay.

7. You gain perspective by looking at the broader picture.

It may be tough to see past the recent loss. Yet that’s precisely what you need to do after you lose. You’ll never be motivated to continue if you can’t gain some perspective to see the broader picture. Your world isn’t a narrow confine or a box you can’t escape.

It’s wide open and waiting for you to discover. This should motivate you to keep going and recognize that this most recent loss is one step to success – and how to win big.

8. You’re already invested.

You’ve already put significant effort into what didn’t work well. So, you’ve already invested. Therefore, it makes much sense to profit from the effort you’ve already put forth and find new ways of approaching the task, project, pursuit, or endeavor. Refresh your memory with what worked well before and modify or adapt those strategies and techniques to the job.

9. Gain new insights by sharing experiences with your network.

What you need is a separate set of eyes and ears. By sharing your experience – the recent loss – with your network, you might learn a few things that can help you get back to winning.

Often, it’s just this type of interpersonal communication. Talking over what happened and listening to suggestions and techniques that worked for others is enough to get you back on track to winning again. That loss also won’t feel as painful when you listen to how others came back from losing.

10. Hold on to your dreams.

In the darkest times, what keeps us going are our dreams. Remember, dearly prized dreams are nature’s way of pushing us to keep going, especially when things look the least favorable.

Your plan may take a little longer to achieve, but you’re making progress if you hold fast and take small steps toward achieving it. This is a sign that you’re a winner, even though you may have lost a thousand times before and likely will again. Hold fast to that dream, and you will achieve it.

Bottom line: The best way to win big when you lose is to use every strategy that works. Persevere until you succeed.

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