I entered the ring as the cocky young new comer quite confident in my natural ability and power.

Twelve minutes later I ended up face down on the canvass with my head ringing and the taste of defeat in my mouth.

Today, the day after my defeat, (boxing here is a metaphor I've not taken up pugilism), I hurt more than at the time of my defeat. In particular the bruises to my ego and self esteem ache badly.

So what do I do? Do I drag myself away into a corner, find a bottle and wash the pain away, do I blame everyone else or do I accept responsibility and learn from this event? Well it comes to me, being someone who wants to achieve the most he can in life to learn from the pain and grow stronger.

It occurs to me to accept the responsibility for my actions and realize that if something is really important then it is really important that I prepare properly and thoroughly. It occurs to me that I must prioritize the essential and save the 'nice to do' for later. And finally it occurs to me that what I win or lose comes down to how focused I am on my goals.

So I'm picking myself up, dusting myself off and I'm planning for my next bout in the ring.

And whether next time I win or lose is down to me.