The Second Mistake

Many years ago while playing in an adult recreational soccer league I did something stupid.

When an opposing player tried to flick the ball over me to spring their teammate on a breakaway I reached out with my hand and knocked the ball down. It was impulsive, but deliberate and the referee gave me the appropriate yellow card and warning.

That wasn’t the stupid thing.

The stupid thing was less than two minutes later when, kinda rattled by the yellow card and not really focused on the game, I did it again.

Yup. I reached out and hit the ball again with the same hand in just about the same spot on the field. Stupid.

The referee probably should have ejected me from the game at that point but he knew I was a fair player and saw by my reaction that I was as shocked as anyone by my actions. I honestly just wasn’t thinking straight the second time.

Both mistakes were my fault. But it’s the second one that bothers me.

I let the first handball distract me from the game while I was playing. And I was fortunate to not have it cost me more.

A couple weeks ago I got in a minor car accident. Not a big deal in some ways, but this happened on vacation in Adelaide, Australia while driving a rented camper van. I’m not even 100% sure what I’m supposed to do in that situation at home, let alone in a foreign country. Thankfully a nearby security guard talked me through the appropriate next steps and everything worked out.

But I was very rattled.

Driving a larger than usual vehicle, on the opposite side of the road, and in a busy city where I don’t know my way around was stressful enough. Doing it right after the fender bender had me highly anxious.

I really didn’t want to make the second mistake.

So I had to be very intentional about managing my emotions, slowing down, breathing deeply, driving cautiously with high awareness, and with my wife taking a more active role in navigation. Once we got out of the city I took some time to go for a short walk and refocus.

As leaders we need to accept that we are going to make some mistakes. The thing we need to avoid is letting the first mistake rattle us into the second.

How do you and your team do that?

Contact me if I can be helpful to you and/or your organization.

Subscribe to Catalyst Content for monthly insights and opportunities for charity leaders.