Failure is not fatal

High levels of success are dependent on staying focused on effort, instead of results.  Coach John Wooden, UCLA basketball coaching legend who led his team to multiple championships became an expert on winning in his lifetime, developed an inspiring outlook on failing. He is quoted as saying, "I had mistakes, but no failures. We may not have won a championship every year and of course lost games, but we had no failures. You never fail if you did the best you were capable and gave full effort." 
Teaching children how grow through challenges can be challenging, but Wooden's example is an excellent starting place.
When taking a loss or experiencing defeat, teach them to ask themselves:
1. How much effort did I put into preparing myself? For this test, this skill, this sporting event, whatever it is they are working on - on a scale of 1-10, how'd I prepare?
2. What is one thing I could improve on in my preparation?
Focusing on what could be done differently is much more effective use of time than beating yourself up over what went wrong.
Daily focus on effort is a skill that must be taught and as we age can truly only be measured by ourselves. Considered to be one of the greatest NFL linebackers in the history of the game, Ray Lewis said, "Effort is between you and you."