Play the Next Play
As I was hustling through the airport, I bumped into a guy I had not seen in a while. As I spent maybe five minutes with him, I heard the regret of decisions in his voice. I saw the regret in his eyes.
I get it. Spend enough time with me, and you, too, will hear of regrets. It was on my mind so much that I wrote a book about it to get it out of my system.
For most of us, we don’t have to look too far for our minds to race to bad decisions, missed conversations, lack of love in a particular situation, or mistakes that have been made. And most, if not all, of the regrets have to do with other people.
Great coaches have a saying: “Play the next play.” The thinking is that you can’t do anything about the previous play or what the scoreboard says. All you can do is focus on what is in front of you, and play the next play with excellence
“Play the next play” is a reset of the mind.
Regardless of the time of year, each of us, inevitably, has a lot of negative history on his mind. Maybe the year isn’t going exactly as planned.
The bad decision that was made, the pitch that didn’t go as planned, the business that was lost, the lack of team continuity, the emotional checkout with your spouse, the undue pressure put on the child, the missed budget, and on and on and on.
All we can do is play the next play.
We tend to play the next play at the new year. We are trained to turn the page, start fresh, make it happen “this year.”
What if we start fresh today?
Make the pivot. Build the new strategy. Change course. Say, “I’m sorry.” Make the call. Build the bridge. Force positivity. Exercise. Write the note. Slow down. Reconnect.
Play the next play.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
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