Anyone who knows me knows I love football. One thing I watch is the quarterback’s reaction after throwing an interception. You’ll hear commentators say “He has to shake it off. In order to play quarterback, you must have a short memory.”

Why is that so important? Well, because in the grand scheme of the game, throwing an interception isn’t that bad. However, if the quarterback keeps thinking about the interception, it will adversely affect his play. Most time the next play called after an interception is a pass play. The coach understands the quarterback needs to regain his confidence quickly. The best way to do that? Call another pass play.

Like playing quarterback, you must have a short memory in weight loss. There will be days when you “throw an interception” (Make poor food choices. Skip workouts) I’ve done it plenty of times. At first, I’d feel bad, beat myself up, be dejected, etc.. Making a poor food choice or skipping a workout wasn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things. But I made it worse because of the mindset I had. The mindset led to even more bad choices. Sound familiar? “I ate Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast. Well, my nutrition is now ruined. Lunch time comes around… Well I already messed up so I’ll have McDonald’s value meal for lunch.” See how the mentality from that one mistake creates a spiral?

I learned to have a short memory. Act like it never happened. On my “next play after throwing an interception” (next decision. Eat healthy or fast food. Sleep in and skip my workout or get up and go to the gym) I had to call a pass play. (Make sure I ate right or went to the gym).

The next time you don’t make a good choice don’t beat yourself up. Have a short memory. Acknowledge the choice was bad and move on. The quicker the better.

Get to the next play as quickly as possible and call a pass play.