Some games you going to play great. Some games you're not. So

The athlete Derrick Favors, forged in the demanding arenas of professional basketball, once spoke with the wisdom of one who has endured both triumph and defeat: “Some games you going to play great. Some games you’re not. So, it’s all about moving on to the next game, next possession. Just come in there every day working, figuring out what you got to work on and see what you did wrong in either the last game or the last season or whatever.” These words, though shaped in the language of sport, resound with timeless truth: that life is not defined by a single moment of glory or failure, but by the courage to move on and continue the work.

To say that some games you’re going to play great, and some games you’re not is to acknowledge the eternal rhythm of existence. No man walks forever in sunshine; no warrior wins every battle. There are days when every effort seems to bear fruit, and days when the same effort falls short. The wise do not cling to victory nor drown in defeat, but accept both as teachers. The fleeting nature of performance does not define the soul — it is the continual rising after each fall that reveals true greatness.

Favors speaks of moving on to the next game, the next possession. This is the creed of resilience. In sport, as in life, the past cannot be replayed. A missed shot, a lost opportunity, a wrong decision — these cannot be undone. But the present moment always offers redemption. To carry yesterday’s failure into today is to stumble twice. To release it, and to face the next possession with clarity, is the way of strength.

History mirrors this lesson. Consider the life of Thomas Edison, who failed countless times before discovering the right design for the electric bulb. If he had clung to each failure as a permanent mark, his name would have been forgotten. Instead, he treated each attempt as a possession, something to learn from before moving on to the next. Through persistence and the willingness to rise anew, he brought light to the world. So too, the athlete learns that one poor game does not end a season, just as one failure does not end a life.

The heart of Favors’ words lies in daily work. He counsels us to come each day with humility, to study both success and failure, to see what you did wrong and to build upon it. This is the discipline of mastery: not to bask endlessly in triumph, nor to wallow endlessly in error, but to treat each as fuel for growth. A true competitor does not fear correction, for correction is the chisel that shapes excellence.

The lesson, then, is clear: whether in sport, in labor, or in life, you will stumble and you will rise. Do not despair in stumbling, nor grow arrogant in rising. Keep your eyes on the next step, the next chance to act, the next day’s work. Build strength not from perfection, but from perseverance. Greatness belongs not to those who never fall, but to those who rise unbroken from each fall, renewed in will and sharpened in skill.

Practical wisdom follows: when you fail, pause only long enough to learn, then move forward. When you succeed, rejoice only long enough to give thanks, then move forward. Each day is a new game, each task a new possession. Carry with you only the lessons of the past, never its chains. Approach each day with the spirit of work, humility, and persistence.

So remember, O listener, the words of Derrick Favors: “It’s all about moving on to the next game, the next possession.” Let this truth echo in your heart. For life, like sport, is not won in a single play, but in the endurance to keep playing, to keep striving, to keep learning, until the final whistle blows.