Are you too tough on yourself? Did you ever mess up and keep re-living the mistake? Have you ever dropped the ball at a critical moment and never gotten over it?

If you said “yes” to any of those three questions this true story might help you live your life from a better perspective.The story begins at a championship basketball game. The two best teams in the nation are playing for the Division 2 Championship.Twenty-one-year-old Jim is the starting guard and high scorer on his team. In the final three seconds, down by just one point, Jim steals the ball from the opposing team’s guard and dribbles toward his team’s basket for an easy game-winning and championship-winning layup, ten feet from the basket.

But suddenly, with not another player near him, Jim’s foot accidentally KICKS the basketball he was dribbling into the stands! The clock runs out—and of course his team loses.

Jim never forgot that moment that ended his college career.

Now if you ever messed up in your life, most likely it wasn’t in front of thousands of people and on national television. Still it hurts when you do mess up, drop the ball or do something really dumb.

Time heals all wounds, they say. It might heal the wound, but it doesn’t mean it’s forgotten. Jim didn’t forget, but he moved on with his life and became a very successful CEO of several big corporations. In fact his college invited him back as a guest speaker many times to share his wisdom and knowledge.

One year the head football coach asked Jim to help him motivate his players. Past teams had never done well and Jim was happy to help out.

On the appointed day, surrounded in the team’s locker room, Jim shared his story from decades before about how he had messed up— took his eye off the ball for a split second, lost his mental focus—and lost a national championship! You could have heard a pin drop as Jim ended that personal story.

Then Jim connected his basketball story to their football experience, and challenged them to do three things:

1. Focus on their assignment.
2. Concentrate on what they were doing.
3. Never take their eye off the ball— whether on defense or offense.

Jim left, went back home and continued his business career. Months later the head football coach called him again and asked him to return—and this time it was to celebrate the team’s undefeated season! They had won their first ever Conference Championship! Jim was delighted as player after player shook his hand and told him it was the speech he gave before their first game that served as their motivation. Curious as to what exactly he had said to them that made such an impact, he asked them to explain. The team captain took Jim aside.

“To a man,” he said, “kicking that basketball and losing the championship was the part that motivated them.”

Jim was shocked. That story was just one small part of his message. The captain then explained, “Oh no, it wasn’t just the story that motivated them. It was the fact that this old man, older than their grandpa, was still re-living that awful mistake he had made decades ago! They were determined not to carry around for the rest of their lives the burden of one moment in time when they may have screwed up! It caused them to play every game with the focus and conviction of champions—which they then became!”

How does that story hit you? Could you be stuck now on some moment in time from years ago when you messed up?