Be a Goldfish: The Ted Lasso Lesson That Frees You to Move Forward as a Leader

We’ve all had those moments we wish we could take back… the mistakes we replay in our minds, the comments we overthink, the situations we carry a little too long. One of the best leadership lessons I’ve heard didn’t come from a business book or conference. It came from a tv show on Apple TV, Ted Lasso.

There’s a moment when Sam makes a mistake on the field, and Ted calls him over and says:

“You know what the happiest animal on earth is? A goldfish. It’s got a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish.” – Ted Lasso

Simple and unexpectedly brilliant.

It’s true, sometimes the thing that holds us back isn’t the moment itself, it’s how long we hold onto it.

In this blog, I’m going to share a story from my own leadership journey and why “being a goldfish” has become a small but powerful reminder for me.

When Letting Go Is the Hardest Part

There was a season when I started noticing something I didn’t want to admit. I had been investing time, energy, and support into helping some people I considered business friends. We collaborated, shared ideas, and we encouraged each other’s work. Or so I thought.

It wasn’t until I had to stop offering free time, free strategy, free creative thinking that the dynamic shifted. The messages stopped. The invitations ended. Silence replaced the conversations that once seemed genuine…it stung a little because it revealed something deeper:

The relationship wasn’t built on mutual respect, it was built on what I provided.

For a while, every time their posts popped up on my social feeds or a new email campaign hit my inbox, something tightened inside me. Quiet frustration. As this continued I began asking myself “why does this still bother me?”

That version of myself was a problem: distracted, reactive, and wasting energy on something that was only dragging me down. It took too long for me to see that the past pain was overshadowing the present moment and opportunities. Worse, by continually replaying that moment in my head, joy was harder to find in the work I did day-to-day. I eventually moved past it, but it took more than a year. I wish I had discovered the secret of the happiest animal back then, but I’m grateful I know it now.

Be a goldfish. Let it go. Reset. Move forward.

Letting go doesn’t excuse the behavior. It frees you from reliving it.

What Letting Go Made Possible

Being a goldfish isn’t about forgetting, it’s about NOT letting yesterday decide who you get to become today. Once I released the resentment, something surprising happened:

I felt lighter, clearer, and more grounded in who I was called to be. Our team felt the shift too. When you’re no longer carrying old frustrations, you can show up differently. You’re free to be more present and confident in how you lead and love your work. This wasn’t about winning or losing relationships. It was about creating space for healthy ones.

“When you let go of what isn’t real, you make room for what is.” – Goldfish

Consider This

If you’re carrying something heavy… a moment, disappointment, a conversation you keep replaying in your mind, maybe today is the day to embrace the goldfish mindset. Not because that moment didn’t happen or doesn’t matter…but because you matter more.

Let go and get your clarity back. Reconnect with your purpose and lead with confidence again. Ted Lasso was onto something: the happiest leaders may be the ones who don’t hold on too long.

Maybe the question isn’t “what happened?” but “what could happen if I stopped reliving it?”

Be a goldfish.

Written by Brian Curee
CEO, Chief Visionary & Strategist at Killer Bee Marketing
Helping businesses grow with clarity, connection, and confidence.

This article is grounded in our own experiences, reflections, and insights. AI tools were used to assist with writing and refined by a real human.