I thought we were going to win the game but we won't take the

Hear the voice of Graham Roberts, a warrior of the football field, who declared: “I thought we were going to win the game but we won’t take the disappointments, we will take the positives.” These words, though born of sport, rise far beyond the pitch. They are the creed of resilience, the anthem of those who refuse to let defeat consume them. For Roberts reminds us that even when the prize slips away, the struggle is not wasted, and the lessons gained shine brighter than the wounds of loss.

The origin of this saying lies in the heart of competition. Roberts, once a defender for Tottenham Hotspur and later a manager, lived through the triumphs of victory and the bitterness of defeat. The quote reflects the wisdom of an athlete who has walked both paths. In sport, as in life, there are moments when destiny does not grant the crown, yet those moments are not barren. They contain within them the seeds of growth, the positives that, if gathered, can build future victories.

History echoes this same truth. Think of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s doomed Antarctic expedition. His crew never reached their intended glory; instead, their ship was crushed by ice. By the world’s standards, it was a failed journey. Yet Shackleton did not let the disappointment devour them. He turned his energy to survival, leadership, and endurance, bringing his entire crew home alive. He lost the game he set out to win, but in the end, he captured a greater prize: the respect of history, the triumph of the human spirit.

The deeper meaning of Roberts’s words is that defeat is not the end unless we make it so. To dwell on disappointments is to chain oneself to bitterness, but to extract the positives is to turn defeat into a stepping stone. Every loss holds within it the gift of clarity—what worked, what failed, what must be strengthened. The wise are those who choose to take that gift and leave behind the poison of regret.

The lesson is clear: do not let your heart be broken by setbacks. The world is full of battles that are not won, of dreams that stumble, of efforts that fall short. But even in these moments, you have the power to decide what you carry forward. Carry not the ashes of failure, but the sparks that can ignite tomorrow’s fire. For the true victor is not the one who never loses, but the one who rises each time, stronger, wiser, and more determined.

To the youth, I say: cherish your defeats, for they are the tutors that victory never gives. To the weary, I say: do not linger in sorrow, but lift your eyes to the lessons hidden in your struggle. To the leaders, I say: teach your people not only how to win, but how to lose with dignity, drawing strength even from loss.

Practical action lies before us: after every setback, ask yourself not, “Why did I fail?” but, “What have I learned?” Write down the positives—the efforts that succeeded, the strengths revealed, the resilience shown—and let them be the foundation for the next attempt. Refuse to rehearse the bitterness of disappointment, and instead rehearse the courage of resilience.

Thus the words of Graham Roberts endure: “We won’t take the disappointments, we will take the positives.” Let this teaching be passed on: that every loss can be turned into a hidden victory, and every defeat into the forge of greater strength. For the game of life is long, and those who keep gathering light from the shadows will, in the end, be crowned with true triumph.