8.30 Troy Aikman: Perspective

“Things are never as good as you think they are or ever as bad as you think they are.” - Troy Aikman

How do you maintain the right perspective through the ups and downs of sports and life?

Perspective is the way you see, interpret, and make sense of a situation, shaped by your experiences, mindset, and point of view.

Keeping the right perspective means not getting too high when things go well or too low when challenges come—staying steady helps you make better decisions, bounce back faster, and appreciate the bigger picture.

Troy Aikman was a championship quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. He once said, “Things are never as good as you think they are or ever as bad as you think they are.”

In both success and struggle, our emotions can exaggerate reality—good moments often aren’t as perfect as they seem, and tough moments usually aren’t as hopeless as they feel—so keeping the right perspective helps us stay balanced and steady.

My coaches growing up always said, “The film doesn’t lie. Nothing looks as good or as bad on film as it does in real life.” Film keeps things in an objective, proper perspective.

That is one of the points of living a good, happy life—being able to keep things in the right perspective, not getting too high or too lo

Question of the Day: How can you manage your perspective so you don’t get too high or too low?