Train Your Brain: Be A Goldfish

Train Your Brain

Be A Goldfish

Dr Heather Bechtel

Fans of Ted Lasso will recognize the phrase the coach tells his athletes: “be a goldfish.”  He explains that a goldfish has a short memory. After a bad game, he encourages his players to forget about their play and move on.  Facebook showed me a pair of running socks the other day with this exact phrase on it. Yes, of course, I ordered the socks.

How can this advice help runners and walkers?  Plenty.  We all have the occasional bad workout in a training season.  Being able to get past that workout will help us keep moving forward.  Likewise, a hard mile can happen within a longer run.  Try to forget that bad mile and “run the mile you’re in.”  Whole training seasons can go well (or not) without that big personal best payoff you expect.  Dwelling on that will not move you forward as well as a little amnesia might.

Need perspective on how to forget or move forward?  Your fellow MIT members & coaches have a wealth of experience and knowledge. Sharing those stories is a great way to make those miles zoom by.  See you on the trail!