Taking L's Like A Winner

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Back in 2009, I was sitting in a bar with my friend West and a few other colleagues while he told a college story: West and his friends were stuck in traffic leaving a football game. He started running his mouth when he saw some of the other team's fans in the truck next to them. The shit talking escalated quickly and, suddenly, both West and an opposing fan hopped out of the car to scrap. West advanced, ready throw hands, but before he could swing, got punched in the face so hard his pants fell down. He then tripped and fell and everyone else who was stuck in traffic started raucously laughing at him.

WOW. I was beside myself. This was the kind of story you bury and never tell a soul, let alone retell for coworkers 10 years later as entertainment. And yet, everyone was laughing with him, West the hardest. He left the bar with the most beautiful girl in the group that night.

Getting punched in the face and having your pants fall down in front of a huge crowd is the stuff of most people's nightmares. However, by retelling the story frequently and skillfully, West took this tremendous L and turned it to his advantage. Instead of allowing it to be a weakness, he owned this hilarious moment and made it a point of pride. I learned an important lesson that night.

Have you taken an L recently? You don't have to answer that because you regularly read websites about expensive clothing, so I know you have. How did you react? Did it upset you? Did it fuck with your pride?

One major disadvantage of taking yourself too seriously is that every loss has two hits: when it happens and when it comes up later to embarrass you. You need to let that ego go. Accept the fact that you're not perfect as perfection is a goal of the naive.

So, next time you take a massive L, breath in a deep breath, let that shit wash over you and learn to laugh about it. Recognize the humor. Didn't get that job offer because you unintentionally made a racist joke during the interview? Roll with it and turn it into a story of redemption. Did someone hilariously dunk on you on Twitter? Retweet the slander. You can use any failed moment to your advantage by owning it and building on it so it becomes your story, instead of giving it the power to control you.

To illustrate my point, I've provide examples of the correct and incorrect way to process one's losses below:

1.

drakel

Taking L's Case Study: Drake

Drake is the master of turning his weaknesses into strengths. I mean, this is a guy who started out as a child actor on a show where he got shot in the back for bullying some kid (wow, this was truly L Inception, an L within an L), which would be damning evidence for anyone trying to be tough in raps. But Aubrey owns that shit and acknowledges that this is a crucial part of his story and success, flipping it into lyrics about how he doesn't fuck with anyone anymore. Continuing, an on-camera moment of him compulsively lint rolling his pants at a Raptors game could've just become another meme about corniness. He ingeniously responded by creating OVO-branded lint rollers.

See, Drake firmly understands that losses are part of life and recognizes them as moments to humanize himself. This has in turn enabled him to become arguably the most popular rapper alive, one who you've undoubtedly thought wrote songs about your own life because he's so goddamn relatable.

2.

joebuddenl

Taking L's Case Study: Joe Budden

I almost feel bad using Joe Budden as an example because this man may have taken more losses than any other rapper in the history of rap. In 2003, he was a young man with a hot, Just Blaze-produced single and tons of potential. Some twelve years later, thanks largely to the unbeatable self-humiliation combo of a garbage Twitter account and a reoccurring role on Love & Hip Hop, Joe's public losses include, but are not limited to: a failed marriage proposal on TV, getting punched in the eye by Raekwon, threatening people who clown him online and, of course, a too expertly manicured beard. If you are any sort of celebrity and threatening violence towards randos on Twitter because they made fun of you, you've already lost completely.

Joe's biggest problem was that with each L he took, instead of rolling with the punches, he reacted emotionally, creating even more public missteps that led to compounding humiliation. Assuming you're even going to begin in the first place, you gotta know when to just call it quits.

So, there it is. Admittedly nothing monumental, but with summer aka L season right around the corner, a message that deserves repeating. If you don't take yourself too seriously, almost anything can be turned to your benefit. Handling your L's like a boss only serves to highlight the glory of your next win. Good luck and godspeed out there, fam.

[Lead image via Second Son, Drake picture via Word On Road, Joe Budden picture via BET]

Lucas Tyson is the plug living in New York. Follow him on Twitter here.

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