Next Play, Best Play: What Football Taught Me About Letting Go of Regret


A missed tackle. A wrong word. A bad decision. You can live in the past—or line up for the next play.

I watched an interview clip of an American football player. During the interview the reporter asked the player, “What do you think about when you make a bad play?” The player didn’t hesitate, “I think about the next play.” I paused the video and put the player’s quote in my note app. I thought about how applicable the quote is to our lives. We’re all going to have moments of failure. We’re all going to have moments when we said something we wished we hadn’t or did something we wished we didn’t. Instead of diving headfirst into the swamp of regrets, why not apologize or make amends where appropriate and move on to the next play. Another player said it a bit differently. When he was asked, “What were your best moments?” He didn’t hesitate, “My best moment is my next moment.” The same holds true for you and me.

🧠 Points to Ponder:

  • How often do you replay your worst moments instead of preparing for your best?
  • What “next play” in your life is waiting for your full attention?
  • Can you forgive yourself as quickly as an athlete resets after a bad play?
  • Are you measuring your life by your past errors—or your next chance to get it right?
  • What would your life look like if your best moment was always the one right in front of you?

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