Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson also had a long career as a manager after his playing days were done. He once said in that latter capacity that you have to have a short memory as a closer. Simple wisdom where it’s true, all that matters for that style of pitching is the very next out. You can forget about what just happened so as to give your full energy and concentration to the batter at the plate.
They also say in football (American football to our foreign readers) that one of the most sought after traits in a prospective cornerback is the same lack of recall. You are inevitably going to get beat one on one for a big play or touchdown, so all that matters is that you don’t let it bother you the next time you line up.
Selective memory works in sports because very often you don’t want the bad to start to affect the good, as can happen given that we are all human. The playing surfaces of whatever game leave no time for learning, that comes later after the final bell or whistle in the space before the next game.
It doesn’t really work so much in other disciplines where time is a much less impressive component. To ignore especially the big mistakes is making another one even bigger, compounding the problem in what can be a self-reinforcing cycle.
This post was published at Wall Street Examiner by Jeffrey P. Snider ‘ October 27, 2017.
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