Behold the Stars

Last Saturday, #6 Texas Tech beat #1 University of Texas with a touchdown pass with one second left on the clock. Graham Harrell threw a pass to Michael Crabtree who, covered by two Longhorn players, amazingly managed to catch the ball while remaining in bounds and run it into the end zone. An exstatic Texas Tech crowd poured onto the field.

But wait a minute! Was Crabtree in bounds? Let’s look at the instant replay. The availability of instant replay allowed us to see that Crabtree was clearly in bounds. Touchdown. After the game, Texas Tech fans could rejoice while watching that play again and again on instant replay.

Instant replay is a great thing. It allows us to review our performance in a million situations, and that process of review helps us to learn. Remembering what fire feels like keeps us from touching the stove again. Remembering what happened the last time you mouthed-off to a big drunk guy in a bar keeps you in line the next time. And instant replay can bring us pleasure. Imagine how Harrell and Crabtree feel each time they remember that play. But if we aren’t careful, the ability to replay can allow us to dwell on our mistakes.

A couple of weeks a ago, an out-of-work friend told us about a recent job opportunity that he felt he had lost because he had said the wrong thing during the interview. He wondered aloud what it said about him and the interviewer, the company, and today’s job market. He wondered how he could have handled it differently.  Here he was, weeks later, repeatedly replaying his error, analyzing the dynamics of the interview, and seeking guidance and solace from the group. He seemed to be endlessly spinning his wheels trying to change something he can’t change: the past.

When we endlessly replay our errors, we deny the reality of our past. That keeps us caught in a past we can’t change and keeps us from focusing our energy on what we’re doing now. When our friend Tom replays the conversation with his girlfriend the night she left, subtly changing his responses until he gets his mind’s version of her to see things his way, it’s as if he secretly believes that if he could get it just right, the new perfected scene will replace the original one in his life. But that won’t bring her back. We get second chances — Tom’s girlfriend might come back — but they don’t change what happened the night she left.

We can take a lesson from the football teams.  Players watch the replays, learn the lessons, and then move on.  If a defensive player misses a tackle that leads to the game-winning touchdown by the opposing team, he doesn’t spend the next week watching the films of that missed tackle. With a game next week, he simply doesn’t have time to worry about the past. He goes out and practices tackling, and if he has a good coach, that coach will keep him focused on what’s coming up, not what’s already passed.

So when you blow it — and you will — take some time to review and learn what you’ve done. That’s what instant replay is for. Then move on.  Focusing on the mistakes of your past can only weaken you.  Accept that you aren’t perfect and start preparing for your next victory.

Make a great day.

Photo: fdecomite