Sales and sports can share common psychological themes. Mark Bowden’s complete volume on the Philadelphia Eagles of the early 90s, Bringing the Heat, is a sometimes scientifically detailed report on the inner workings of the team. These observations turn to psychology on page 298: “Football players, and athletes in general, learn early the importance of not looking back. It’s a discipline that is drilled into them from the first week of organized play: Forget about what happened, that’s in the past [...] Things that happened in the past, good things, bad things, whatever, they could only hurt you. [...] The important thing is to leave them behind. Unburden the mind [...] Forget value judgements, critical analysis, self-doubt, worry; it’s just next play, next game, next season. That’s the cold logic of pro sports- You’re only as good as your next game- and that is how you had to proceed. [...]The pressures of the game are heavy enough without carrying mental baggage of with you out on the field. At its ideal, it’s like practicing Zen. You live entirely in the moment, fully alive and open to new opportunity, unmuddied by the past, unformed in the future.“
Bowden calls it Zen, I call it Stoicism in the classical meaning of the word. The concept is the same. You only have your present actions now, today to drive you forward, and once the day is done, it’s now, today, again tomorrow.
Don’t dwell on your past wins; no one else cares. Management needs you to produce the same as last year and then some. On a good year, you’re down 20% over last year, before you even start due to: non-repeatable projects, your accounts being acquired or going under, rubbing someone the wrong way and getting fired outright or seeing her spend with you decline to the minimum, having your best spending contact have his budget slashed or move to a different role, your offering is no longer relevant, you just get straight beat by a competitor. New customers you’re trying to acquire won’t care how many awards you’ve won. Their needs demand your attention not in the past, but in the now. Current customers aren’t stepping into the same stream twice, as they and their industries face the day to day change as you. Your customers need your best service, consultation, and offerings not in the past, but now.
Don’t dwell on your past losses; only you care. Debrief, actually write notes down, as over time, your memory tells you false narratives that build false assumptions (read Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me)). Even a complete set of notes about a lost deal are only your side and will be missing multiple crucial pieces of information you’ll just never know (see Black Swans from Mike Voss’ book Never Split the Difference.) Commit the notes to paper and the learning from the loss to memory.
Tell yourself about all your previous wins and losses: “that’s in the past,” and compete for the opportunity before you now.