Years ago i used to go bowling with a few friends, i would get like 80 or 90 points and they would get around 225ish. Several months later i was up to getting around 200 points per game. Granted it was all for fun, but just playing with them made me a better bowler (i have not been bowling in a decade now so i would probably be getting around 100 points again).
So yeah i lost, but it made me better. As long as you are aware of your skill set vs. someone else's and you wont let it consume you i don't see it as a bad thing (assuming the other player is not a complete jerk).
Not sure if that's the same thing, because each bowler plays in complete isolation from their competitors. It's much harder to improve in competitive games in which playing against stronger players makes it harder for you to practice your own skills.
So yeah i lost, but it made me better. As long as you are aware of your skill set vs. someone else's and you wont let it consume you i don't see it as a bad thing (assuming the other player is not a complete jerk).