Lose, then Gain [失得]

It is best to lose first, the gain from that knowledge to gain ground in practice and training. This may sound a bit off but westerners often try for gains first and when they don't achieve those gains they are disappointed thus actually losing with no chance of learning from the loss. I believe reversing this and accepting that we will always lose and gain with losses as a means of learning and improving allowing for more and greater gains for the future.

The losses are those building blocks that create a foundation on which gains are built. The Asian cultures leaned this many hundreds to thousands of years ago and we still seem stuck in the must gain and not lose mentality. Most of what I cherish the most in knowledge and experience comes from the losses I experienced and yet it took the time to reach my winter years to actually realize this as most important. This is why it is a post today and not some twenty plus years ago.

I had to make vast changes to my practice and training because of the mistaken understanding I had to acknowledge and let go due to new knowledge I have gained in the last five to ten years. Isn't is a shame we can't inspire the younger practitioners into realizing this necessary reversal to gain more before the winter years of life?

Yes, loss can be disappointing but the resulting gains will more than make up for the them.