There’s a proverb I frequently say to myself, out loud, that you don’t hear much in everyday conversation.

I want to say I heard it more in my youth, but, to be honest, I might be misremembering that. My youth was a while back.

Also, “misremembering” has become one of my favorite terms as the years go by. I didn’t intentionally make that up.

I just misremembered.

The proverb is, “Physician… heal thyself.” Those familiar with it know what it means.

Others can figure it out. Or, hey, Chat or Grok or Claude it.

When you’re sorta kinda in the business of offering advice and (hopefully) helpful observations to others, it’s probably a good idea to follow some of the advice you give.

Or, at a minimum, recognize it when someone else puts that advice into practice.

In this case, I was in what doctors and scientists call “a funk.” At least I think they call it that.

I may be misremembering. But I don’t think so.

I was down about a proposal that didn’t go my way.

Objectively, I had plenty of reasons not to feel that way. But it’s hard to be objective when you’re determined to be subjectively in a funk.

Then, out of the blue, I received an email from a banker thanking me for a message in a column weeks earlier.

She said, “I really needed that.”

The minute or so she took to thank me changed my day.

Being who I am, I analyzed what had just happened. Not a single thing about my situation had changed.

That proposal still hadn’t gone my way. But someone’s kind gesture changed my perspective.

I began sending out thank-yous and compliments to folks who popped into my mind and deserved them.

I went out of my way to be as nice as I could to everyone I encountered that day.

And something unsurprising happened.

My own mood improved dramatically. So did my productivity.

And, yes, I know why.

And, yes, I shouldn’t have needed that.

And, yes, I guess I did.

Never underestimate the impact of a sincere compliment or simply letting someone know that something they did mattered.

The banker who emailed me had no idea I was in a funk.

She simply took a minute to say something nice.

It changed my day, and I ended up trying to change a few other people’s days in return.

It’s a great cycle to be in.

Start one today.

My favorite sports season is upon us.

I’m not talking about the NFL…well, not exactly. I’m talking about Fantasy Football season.

I’ve been a part of our league for over 20 years.

And to be honest, I’d probably rank our draft day as one of my Top 10 most-looked-forward-to days of the year.

Our draft rivals a Comedy Central Roast when it comes to decorum.

Suffice it to say, it is not the place for the easily offended. But it’s good-natured, I swear.

(I mean, unless it involves the Cowboys. Just saying.)

What I find particularly entertaining is that our group now has several generations of “owners.”

And we span the gamut from people who show up with actual notes on paper to the two or three who are forever fighting with the Wi-Fi in the sports bar to have AI draft their team.

And for the record, the worst teams last year were drafted by AI.

Now, I’m sure it’s improved since then, but it was hysterically bad.

I may trust AI to drive my car or do my taxes.

But draft my fantasy team?

Nah. Not gonna happen.

And while the draft is obviously important, plenty of people "win" draft day and then proceed to lose the season step by step.

You see, like the actual NFL draft, you judge picks by potential.

“Stars” (based on past performance and situations) get picked first.

Teams look great on paper.

All the experts agree.

And then…reality gets a vote.

Without fail, by the end of the season, the teams with the best records have players on them who went undrafted.

Most of the guys in our league dedicate more research to drafting their team than they did to any paper or project in school.

And, at best, we get it 75% right.

There are simply too many variables throughout the year.

Those who pay attention, resist the urge to blindly defend past decisions and adjust to new realities tend to come out on top.

I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say the same is true for most things in our professional and personal lives.

We do our best to make the best decisions we can with what we know, where we are and when we are there.

Making changes later, as called for, is not an indictment of past decisions.

It’s how games are won.

Especially the ones that matter most.