Laughter is not the best medicine

There’s an old saying you’ve probably heard a thousand times: “Laughter is the best medicine.” It’s a nice thought. Who doesn’t love a good joke, a moment to relax and enjoy life? But if we’re being honest, does laughter really make us stronger? Does it sharpen our skills? Does it prepare us for the challenges of life—on or off the field?

Ecclesiastes 7:3 tells us something different: “Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.” That’s not exactly the feel-good message we might want to hear, but it holds a truth that every football player—every competitor—needs to understand. The best medicine in life isn’t laughter. It’s hardship. It’s struggle. It’s the pain of failure that pushes us to become better.

Learning Through Loss

Let’s talk about wins and losses. Scoring a game-winning touchdown feels incredible, and celebrating in the locker room with your teammates is a memory you’ll carry forever. But what did you learn from it? You executed, you played well, you did what you were supposed to do. But did you grow?

on Now think about a loss. Think about getting stuffed at the goal line with the game on the line. Think about missing a tackle that allows the other team to score. That feeling in your gut? That frustration? That’s where the real loss. Losing forces you to reflect. It makes you study film more closely. It makes you push yourself harder in practice. It makes you better.

A loss stings. But it also fuels hunger. And that hunger is what makes champions.

Getting Knocked Down Makes You Tougher

No player enjoys getting knocked down. But every great player knows it’s part of the process. Getting tackled isn’t failure—it’s an opportunity. Every time you hit the ground, you have two choices: stay down or get up stronger.

A defender drives you into the turf? Good. Now you know what it feels like. Now you can adjust. Now you can hit the weight room harder, fine-tune your technique, and make sure it doesn’t happen again. The struggle is what makes you tougher, and toughness wins games.

Football is a game of grit. It’s about endurance. It’s about pushing through pain and adversity. Laughter doesn’t prepare you for a fourth-quarter drive when you’re exhausted and sore. But the struggles you’ve endured? The tough practices? The losses? Those prepare you.

The Heart of a Warrior

The verse from Ecclesiastes says that a sad face is good for the heart. That doesn’t mean we should walk around miserable. It means that struggle strengthens us from the inside out. It makes us resilient. It gives us the heart of a warrior.

The best teams, the best players, the best leaders—they’re not the ones who have it easy. They’re the ones who battle through the hard times and come out stronger on the other side. So the next time you’re frustrated, the next time you face a setback, don’t wish it away. Lean into it. Learn from it. Use it.

Because frustration, not laughter, is the best medicine for success.