Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court

Losing and Winning

Long before any championships were ever won at UCLA, I came to understand that losing is only temporary and not all-encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again. Then you must have the self-control to forget about it.

I’ve also learned that winning games, titles, and championships isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and that getting there, the journey, is a lot more than it’s cracked up to be.

Please understand that I wanted to win every single game I ever played in or coached. Absolutely. I wanted to win. But, I understood that ultimately the winning or losing may not be under my control. What was under my control was how I prepared myself and our team. I judged my success, ...