You Remembered My Name

“That is a damn fine sports drink, young fella. You continue to impress, Nate.”

And the trainer says, “You remembered my name.”

That’s a conversation from the first episode of Ted Lasso.

Complimenting Nate’s sports drink might seem trivial. Simple words to acknowledge a job well done. But the most impactful part for Nate was this: you remembered my name.

Noticing people. Knowing their names. That communicates, I value you. You are important. It’s simple, but not always easy.

Trust, safety, repeated positive interactions. Simple, but not easy. Mental fitness is about building those things over time.

And just as important, avoiding the moments that easily destroy them. Explosions of anger. Demeaning comments. Not taking responsibility. Lying. Secrets. Blaming. All of these destroy trust.

When you do this to yourself, it’s harder to overcome and harder to handle when someone else does it to you.

I’ve noticed that when I talk to myself, simply replacing “you” with “Hans” slows me down. Not like when your full name is used in trouble, but like when your best friend says your name. It makes me more kind. More thoughtful.

Simple. Not easy. Powerful. Purposeful.

If you want to master that, our keynotes, trainings, group coaching, and one on one coaching can help transform simple but not easy into a powerful purpose that changes the way you perform.