Lose, study the tape, circle the date. Treat every loss like the first half of a rematch.

Losing becomes useful only when you look at it closely, which is the hardest thing to do right after one. Most people either replay the feeling or refuse to think about it at all, and neither produces information. Looking at what actually happened turns an ending into a middle.

Give yourself a day before reviewing anything. Then write down three specific moments that went wrong, not three things about yourself. Choose one of them to work on before the next attempt.