One of the most important things I try to stress in my classes is the idea that when you spar you should always be learning and improving your game. Whether you win or lose you should always be learning.
If you lose you should know or find out why you lost and not that you got choked and had to tap, but what happened, why did you get got caught in a choke in the first place, when did you lose control of your game, was it your poor choice in technique or lack off that failed you, your opponents superior attributes or was it just a bad strategy, whatever the reason you should know or find out why or your sparring session was not a learning session and you are just wasting valuable training time and probably creating bad habits that might take months to undo.
On the other side of the coin if you win again know why, did you overpower them, too fast for them if it was your attributes why you won again that is not learning you are just reinforcing what we already know a bigger, stronger, faster person has the advantage in a fight, what will you do when those attributes are not in your favor. Learn what to do now so that when your body gets older and weaker you are not behind trying to make up new strategies and develop new habits to deal with the younger stronger guns.
People have forgotten what the true purpose for martial arts is and that is to give the smaller, weaker person a chance to survive an encounter with a much bigger and stronger opponent and for that to happen the techniques and strategies can not be based on superior attributes.
When you compete in sporting events you should be doing things to increase you attributes like weightlifting, running, stretching ect... and doing things like cutting weight to give yourself as many advantages as possible, but when it comes down to the fight your strategy and techniques should not be attribute based this way you can last longer and be more effective when faced against someone with the superior attributes to you.
In closing train smarter not harder, when faced with adversity go with the flow don't push when they push, pull when they push find the easiest most simplistic but safe way out of any situation. To me this is the most important training concept there is next to realistic training which is going against a resisting opponent so you know that what you are doing actually works.