Next Play Mentality

Use this important skill that top athletes have mastered

Athletes know that they can’t let one bad play define them. They have to move on to the next play. The same is true for life. We all make mistakes, but we can’t let them define us. We have to have a next play mentality.

A next play mentality means that we learn from our mistakes and move on. We don’t dwell on them or beat ourselves up over them. We simply learn what we can from them and then move on to the next thing.

There are a few things we can do to develop a next play mentality:

• Learn from our mistakes. This doesn’t mean that we have to dwell on them, but we should take some time to reflect on what went wrong and what we can do to avoid making the same mistake in the future.
• Don’t dwell on our mistakes. Once we’ve learned from them, we need to let them go. We shouldn’t beat ourselves up over them or let them ruin our day.
• Focus on the next play. Whatever we’re working on, we need to focus on the next step we need to take. We shouldn’t worry about the big picture or the finish line. We just need to focus on the next play.
• Have a positive mindset. When we believe in ourselves and our ability to succeed, we’re more likely to achieve our goals.