Oops, he did it again. Novak Djokovic smashed his racket in frustration at the Australian Open in February this year. He repeated that regrettable action during the Tokyo Olympics in July. And now, he’s consigned the tool of his trade to the dustbin yet again at the US Open finals last weekend. He clearly has an issue with controlling his own anger when faced with the prospect of defeat, and as such, the world’s top-ranked tennis player isn’t exactly setting the best example for fans dealing with a similar situation in life. Maybe Roger Federer is, if we are to make a comparison. So, how does one take a leaf out of the latter’s book and deal with defeat with dignity and grace, instead of becoming the raging bull that Djokovic turns into? Two experts show us the way.

. Be prepared for failure: Image consultant Greeshma Thampi explains that it’s important to understand that there are situations in life where we win, and there are those where we don’t. “Say, you were unable to bag a client or get a promotion. If that happens, you need to tell yourself that it’s a temporary road block and that even the best players will have a bad day. Don’t take it personally or question your self-worth. Take it in your stride and move forward instead,” she says, while success coach Anand Chulani explains that there is an inner critic in all of us. “We beat ourselves up when we don’t live up to our expectations. So, Djokovic was actually beating himself up more than smashing the racket,” he says, adding, “The problem is that we have been taught about failure the wrong way. It is shamed, and there is guilt surrounding it. There is thus a fear about it, when failure is actually not a bad thing. We should look at it as an opportunity to grow rather than as a prison sentence, because it’s when we benefit from tough times that our inner critic becomes an inner coach instead.”