5th February 2026
There is a beautiful Japanese saying:
“If you get on the wrong train, get off at the nearest station. The longer it takes you to get off, the more expensive the return trip will be.”
Tiger Woods holds multiple golf records and is considered one of the greatest golfers.
Despite this greatness and just like everyone else, his career has had many ups and downs.
When asked about how he handles the mistakes and pressure, he has been quoted to say, that after he hits a bad golf shot he allows himself to think about it for 10 steps, but then he must leave it in the past and move on to the next shot.
If he does not, he risks having one bad shot become two bad shots, two bad shots becoming three, and so on and so forth. Continue to do this and he is no longer Tiger Woods, instead he becomes your local average golfer!
The longer one worries about their last bad shot, the less capable you become to make up for it on the coming holes.
In golf, each shot is a different story and each one brings the opportunity for redemption.
I think this idea is applicable to a lot more than just golf. In fact, the concept is important to remember in all aspects of life.
Do you ever find yourself endlessly mentally replaying situations in which you wish you’d performed differently?
You wish you hadn’t said that dumb thing.
You wish you’d volunteered for that project that’s now winning accolades. You wish you’d spoken up.
You wish you hadn’t dropped the ball with that potential client.
So, a question to ask yourself:
“Where are you being held back by the things you refuse to let go?”
Do not dwell on past failures or you will have a hard time going forward.
Normalize getting off at the next station.
Normalize change. Normalize reinvention. Normalize unbecoming in order to become.
Remember this and the next time you make a mistake, acknowledge it, learn from it, and then keep moving forward on your path of achievement & stay blessed forever.