Accept Defeat Quotes & Sayings

To bear defeat with dignity, to accept criticism with poise, to receive honors with humility - these are marks of maturity and graciousness. — William Arthur Ward

Everyone wants to learn how to win, but no one wants to learn how to accept defeat. — Bruce Lee

The refusal of the British and Russian peoples to accept what appeared to be inevitable defeat was the great factor in the salvage of our civilization. — George C. Marshall

Regardless of gender, one has to be willing to take what belongs and what has been promised, by not backing down and by not giving up. Never be willing to throw in the towel and accept defeat! — Ellen J. Barrier

Defeat in itself was part and parcel of the great gambling game of politics. A man who could not accept it and try again was not of the stuff of which leaders are made. — Agnes Sligh Turnbull

We're told that men are strong & brave, but I think women know how to endure, accept defeat & bear physical & mental agony much better than men. — Lisa See

The power of positive thinking begins when you refuse to accept defeat, and start preparing yourself for future possibilities. The only thing standing in the way of your breakthrough, is you! — Bobby F. Kimbrough Jr.

There are different types of people in the world. There are people who accept what's in front of them unquestioningly. The live in the dark. In defeat. Ignoring what the future might bring or how they might help to make things happen. Then there are people like me. Optimists. They too live in the dark, in times like these, but dream of the light. I trust in the possibilities of betterness. I believe there is more to life than this. I have to. There's no other choices for me. — Jeyn Roberts

There was no such thing as defeat if you didn't accept it. — Fay Weldon

Could he not find in his heart the generosity to acknowledge that there is a small nation that stood alone not for one year or two, but for several hundred years against aggression; that endured spoliations, famines, massacres in endless succession; that was clubbed many times into insensibility, but that each time on returning [to] consciousness took up the fight anew; a small nation that could never be got to accept defeat and has never surrendered her soul? — Eamon De Valera

Your power, your great gift, is that you never give up. When something fails you make a new plan, and another, and another. You never accept defeat. You never give up. — A.C. Gaughen

Jiu-jitsu is the gentle art. It's the art where a small man (or woman is going to
prove to you, no matter how strong you are, no matter how mad you get,
that you're going to have to accept defeat. Thats what Brazilian
Jiu-jitsu is. — Saulo Ribeiro

If Mark Zuckerberg doesn't understand something, it's not defeat. It's not even something he has to accept. It's merely a challenge he needs to engineer his way out of, and that includes human emotions and relationships. — Sarah Lacy

You've got to realize that in any competition there is always a winner and loser. When it turns out that you're the loser on a given day, you can be a graceful loser, but it doesn't mean that you're a loser in the sense that you're willing to accept losses readily. Concede that on that day you weren't the best and that you were beaten in competition. But that should make you more dedicated and hard working. It's wrong to accept defeat as a loser. Be graceful about losing, but don't accept it. — Nolan Ryan

Defeat is only defeat if we accept it as defeat. Victory often comes after defeat, because one was too stubborn to allow it to be their reality. In the trail of any great conflict you will see the scuff marks, where the one was beaten down, but they could not be taught to stay that way. — Tom Althouse

There is really nothing you can do easily: live or die or accept fame or money or defeat, it's all hard. — Charles Bukowski

Winning is not about a single game. It's about repeated performance over a long haul. Winners never give up, never accept defeat, and work as long and as hard as it takes to get the job done right. They say, "Don't tell me why I can't do it. Tell me how I can get it done" You have the winner's DNA...take massive action and never give up! — Farshad Asl

She is defeated, and her husband is vanquished. But everyone knows that she will not accept her defeat, she will plot and scheme for her son, just as Edward told me that I must plot and scheme for ours. She will never stop until she is back in England and the battle is drawn up again. She will never stop until her husband is dead, her son is dead, and she has no one left to put on the throne. This is what it means to be Queen of England in this country today. This — Philippa Gregory

And the trouble with me is that my ego just can't accept a loss. I suppose that if I were more perfectly adjusted, I would toss off defeat, but my name is on this ball club. Thirty-six men publicly reflect me and reflect on me, and it's a matter of my pride. — Vince Lombardi

With all of the history of war, and the human race's history unfortunately has been a good deal more war than peace, with nuclear weapons distributed all through the world, and available, and the strong reluctance of any people to accept defeat, I see the possibility in the 1970's of the President of the United States having to face a world in which 15 or 20 or 25 nations may have these weapons. — John F. Kennedy

A defeat for humanity would be the failure to recognise the rights of two people who love each other.

A defeat for humanity is that people accept such hatred and discrimination into their hearts.

A defeat for humanity would be the failure of the church to recognise that nobody can control who a person loves.

A victory for humanity would be the dissolution of a theocratic dystopia that promotes anti-equality (aka "the Vatican") which has no place in a modern society. — Scott A. Butler

Fight the Fight and Never Accept Defeat...
Life is like a three minute round. Step into that ring, feel the adrenaline,throw your punches and take them, respect your opposition; and win or lose, remember you went in fighting and came out a winner! — Carol Gambill

If an American is to amount to anything he must rely upon himself, and not upon the State; he must take pride in his own work, instead of sitting idle to envy the luck of others. He must face life with resolute courage, win victory if he can, and accept defeat if he must, without seeking to place on his fellow man a responsibility which is not theirs. — Theodore Roosevelt

A person who believes in nonviolence believes in a living God. He cannot accept defeat. — Mahatma Gandhi

I would rather be a one-term President and do what I believe is right than to be a two-term President at the cost of seeing America become a second-race power and to see this Nation accept the first defeat in its proud 190-year history. — Richard M. Nixon

Arab children, Corn ears of the future, You will break our chains, Kill the opium in our heads, Kill the illusions. Arab children, Don't read about our suffocated generation, We are a hopeless case. We are as worthless as a water-melon rind. Dont read about us, Dont ape us, Dont accept us, Dont accept our ideas, We are a nation of crooks and jugglers. Arab children, Spring rain, Corn ears of the future, You are the generation That will overcome defeat. — Nizar Qabbani

If you say that you have accepted defeat, the world will let you go. 'We' have discovered this. Because, we had tried to win over the world and in doing so, we had to go through many incarnations. And in the end, I said that I have acknowledged defeat and settled down. — Dada Bhagwan

Floyd did not accept the blame for his defeat. He blamed his fellow general Henry Wise for not committing some of his regiments to the battle. Wise reacted to the charge by calling Floyd "that bullet-hit son of a bitch. — Clint Johnson

You can take the best team and the worst team and line them up and you would find very little physical difference. You would find an emotional difference. The wining team has a dedication. It will have a core group of veteran players who set the standards. They will not accept defeat. — Merlin Olsen

In an argument, you may silence your opponent by pressing an advantage of strength or of wealth, or of education. But you do not really convince him. Though he is no longer saying anything, in his heart he still keeps to his opinion, the only way to make him change that opinion is to speak quietly and reasonably. When he understands that you are not trying to defeat him, but only to find the truth, he will listen to you and perhaps accept what you tell him. — Kano Jigoro

She did not respond, only clung harder to my embrace, and I held her with all the afflictions of a man torn by love. What a miracle she was, what a truly exquisite paragon of beauty and virtue so incredibly combined. And all perhaps wrenched from my grasp because of a war I had no real interest in nor knowledge of. In that moment I did not care who won, if only it would end and I could be with her. I would accept the whole responsibility of defeat if I had to, if only it meant a life with her by my side.
I just wanted her. Needed her. As simply and clearly as one needs food and oxygen and light, I needed her in my life.
And above us, flittering tranquilly in the trees above, the finches and skylarks continued to sing peacefully into the fading sun. — Jamie L. Harding

You should not be too proud and accept help when it is offered, Lenora. Being overconfident will lead to your defeat if not careful — James Terzian

Happiness needs sadness.
Success needs failure.
Benevolence needs evil.
Love needs hatred.
Victory needs defeat.
Pleasure needs pain.

You must experience and accept the extremes. Because if the contrast is lost, you lose appreciation; and when you lose appreciation, you lose the value of everything. — Anonymous

An artist can accomplish anything provided he doesn't accept facts or defeat for more than a few minutes. — John Cassavetes

Over the years, I have seen too many politicians ruin their careers because they could not accept defeat graciously. — Jean Chretien

Noble in defeat, he (Nixon) was now without grace in victory. I had seen the president show rare courage when others are around him shrank in fear. Since I had come to respect the president for what he was at his best moments, I learned to accept him for what he was at his worst. Loyalty, like love, creates its own image of what we see. — Charles W. Colson

It might be that to surrender to happiness was to accept defeat, but it was a defeat better than many victories. — W. Somerset Maugham

If you can forget me, that's well and good. But if you can't, accept your defeat and surrender to me. Don't try to fight with my memories. I love you! — Nelson Jack

Unless you accept the possibility of defeat you will not eliminate desire. — Vadim Zeland

Like everyone else, you want to learn the way to win, but never to accept the way to lose - to accept defeat. To learn to die is to be liberated from it. So when tomorrow comes you must free your ambitious mind and learn the art of dying! — Bruce Lee

You don't have to be reluctant to accept an invitation from your enemy because that invitation is an indication of its own heavy defeat. Jonathan said, 'Come on, then we will crossover toward them and let them see us. If they say to us, ' Wait there until we come to you,' we will stay where we are and not go to them. But if they say, 'Come up to us,' we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the Lord has given them into our hands (Samuel 14:8-10 NIV). The power of accepting the enemy's invitation. — Euginia Herlihy

You learn to accept defeat graciously in golf. Unlike other sports, the game itself is a constant opponent. It never stops. A golfer is fortunate to win a few times. We spend our whole lives trying to conquer something, and we lose a lot more than we win. — Ben Crenshaw

Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such." - HENRY MILLER — Steve Pavlina

The man who can accept defeat and take his salary without feeling guilty is a thief. — George Allen

We're told that men are strong & brave, but I think women know how to endure, accept defeat & bear physical & mental agony much better than men. — Lisa See

When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future. — Queen Elizabeth II

He considered the importance of what he was to do, and calmed himself. He felt the dragon's mood and acknowledged it. It was a willingness to accept whatever fate brought, but without a resignation to defeat. Death might come, but with it might also come victory. — Raymond E. Feist

When you accept employment, you are admitting that you cannot think or develop yourself — Sunday Adelaja

I don't accept defeat as final. Only death is final - and even then I hope for a reprieve. — Phil Gramm

Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such — Henry Miller

I'd accept defeat. fighting doesn't preclude enduring.I can fight, and if fighting fails I can still endure. — Dean Koontz

We cannot accept in victory what we would not accept in defeat. — Dick Bennett

Christie was one of that large class of women who, moderately endowed with talents, earnest and true-hearted, are driven by necessity, temperament, or principle out into the world to find support, happiness, and homes for themselves. Many turn back discouraged; more accept shadow for substance, and discover their mistake too late; the weakest lose their purpose and themselves; but the strongest struggle on, and, after danger and defeat, earn at last the best success this world can give us, the possession of a brave and cheerful spirit, rich in self-knowledge, self-control, self-help. This was the real desire of Christie's heart; this was to be her lesson and reward, and to this happy end she was slowly yet surely brought by the long discipline of life and labor. — Louisa May Alcott

He has bragged greatly about you. The Lahnahsahna, a true warrior's wife. He told his people he did not claim you. He told his people he battled you before he won you. He told his people you challenged him. The warrior king's bride fought like a warrior. She did not lay back and accept her fate. She stood strong and shouted in the face of a king. She fought and did not give up. Even knowing she'd taste defeat, she fought on, like a true warrior. He told his people you are not his queen. You are his warrior queen. — Kristen Ashley

If you can accept defeat and open your pay envelope without feeling guilty, you're stealing. — George Allen

He challenged the world with his genius, and the world defeated him by ignoring the challenge and starving him. He stopped writing because he had failed and because he had no choice but to accept the world's terms: there is no mystery here. This was not insanity, but common sense. — Raymond Weaver

Suffer barbaric childhood to give and receive remorselessly; civilized age learns to protect what it has, to neither give nor accept freely, to trust it's own mistrust above faith, and intriguing others above the innocent. Intrigue, after all, is rational, something the mind can sink it's teeth into, and defeat it with the good digestion of reason, a hopeless prospect for the toothless heart, and God only knows what innocence will do next. — William Gaddis

I didn't know it then, but my persistence, perseverance, and unwillingness to accept defeat when things looked all but hopeless were part of the very character traits I would need to make it through World War II alive. — Louis Zamperini

The mainland can stretch until it breaks at the weakest points, and those weaknesses are called faults. Each island represented a victory and a defeat: it had either pulled itself free or pulled too hard and found itself alone. Later, as these islands grew older, they turned their misfortune into virtue, learned to accept their cragginess, their misshapen coasts, ragged where they'd been torn. They acquired grace. — Anne Michaels

My advice to young entrepreneurs is not to accept defeat in the face of odds, and challenge negative forces with hope, self-confidence and conviction. — Dhirubhai Ambani

If you are in a pit of stress or despair, don't succumb to defeat. Don't accept that difficult place as your fate. Even though God has allowed you to be there right now, he never intended for you to live there. Our God is bigger then whatever problem you are facing. The only way to see past the problem is to believe that he has not forgotten or abandoned you and that, at the exact time that he has ordained, he will reach down and pick you up. — Tracie Miles

Once you accept defeat, it becomes ease to lose. If defeat comes, face it and take it, but don't accept it. — Pete Rose

I know that you that you may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. If you accept that you have been defeated, you give power to the force that is trying to defeat you. — Maya Angelou

Sir Lyonel knew that this sleeping knight would charge to his known defeat with neither hesitation nor despair and finally would accept his death with courtesy and grace as though it were a prize. And suddenly Sir Lyonel knew why Lancelot would gallop down the centuries, spear in rest, gathering men's hearts on his lance head like tilting rings. He chose his side and it was Lancelot's. He brushed a dungfly from the sleeping face. — John Steinbeck

Your life will change for the better when you finally accept and deal with the fact that you have a chronic attraction to poisonous people. Face it. Fight it. Defeat it. Setting a better standard shapes a better life. — Steve Maraboli

What you accept in victory, you must accept in defeat. — Don Meyer

You would always beat me; not so much because you are a better fighter as because you will not accept defeat. — John Christopher

And in Kandahar he was taught about survival, about fighting and killing and hunting, and he learned much else without being taught, such as looking out for himself and watching his tongue and not saying the wrong thing, the thing that might get him killed. About the dignity of the lost, about losing, and how it cleansed the soul to accept defeat, and about letting go, avoiding the trap of holding on too tightly to what you wanted, and about abandonment in general, and in particular fatherlesness, the lessness of fathers, the lessness of the fatherless, and the best defenses of those who are less against those who are more: inwardness, forethought, cunning, humility and good peripheral vision. The many lessons of lessness. The lessening from which growing could begin. — Salman Rushdie

When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal. — Napoleon Hill