# How changing my mindset helped me

When I was losing 0-4 against my close friend in [Fencing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fencing), I thought to myself, “Well this is over.” I went to school at 6:30 AM to practice Fencing and I was battling against my friend. We hadn’t fenced each other for the entire season until now. We said that it would prove who was better. So amid my 0-4 loss, I remembered my dad, who would love to see me win. But he wasn’t there. (Because he had to go back home to work.) So I changed what I was thinking and replaced "***Well, this is over* with *I’ve got nothing to lose***”. My opponent, smelling victory, charged me with everything he had. I quickly thought fast, extended my arm into his charge and retreated.

It worked.

I got my first point of the game. Now it was 1-4. I scored 3 more points using the same mindset. Not letting him get a single point, which would give him the victory. (In Fencing, you go up to 5 points.) Now it was 4-4. My opponent did not charge this time. But I charged. I locked his blade with mine and I quickly went around his blade and lunged. I won the game.

When riding back home, I thought about my victory. Just by changing my mindset, I had come back from a 4-point deficit. I wondered If I applied the same mindset to my outside-of-school Fencing class, it would prove my opponent did not let his guard down and didn’t get lucky points. I applied the same mindset to my Fencing class. I was going against an opponent who had been Fencing for almost twice as much as I have. Again, I was losing 0-4. Just like I did previously, I changed my mindset and won the game 5-4.

Just by changing my mindset, I had come back from all my losses. I was taught that to make a comeback, you don’t need luck. You need a change in mindset. You can rephrase this mindset by changing it to, “I’ve got nothing to lose” How can you get to this mindset? That is up to you. How I got to this mindset is that I imagined what was going to happen if I lost. I didn't have anything to lose. So, instead of saying ***Well this is over* I said to myself, *I’ve got nothing to lose… except my pride***.  Another strategy is to imagine what you will gain if you win. If I won, I would gain recognition, respect, and bragging rights. Or, you can say to yourself, “***Well, I’m not going to win this game, but I’m going to make my opponent go through the gauntlet to win this one***.”

I also wondered, what if I applied this same mindset to my everyday life? Would it help or would it not help? In my math test, I set my mind to the same, “I’ve got nothing to lose” mindset. I completed the test and when my scores got released, I got a 49/50. 98%. This mindset does not only apply to Fencing, it goes to all sports, Soccer, American Football, Baseball, etc. So, I hope this blog helps you overcome losses and math tests.

Bye!