Be a Goldfish: The Art of Letting Go & Drinking Mushroom Coffee

There’s a moment in Ted Lasso—Season 1, Episode 2—that’s stuck with me ever since I first heard it. Ted turns to a discouraged Sam and says, “You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? A goldfish. Know why? It’s got a ten-second memory. Be a goldfish.”

Simple. Profound. And oddly inspirational.

“Be a goldfish” is such a powerful phrase—short, quirky, and wise. It’s about resilience, emotional agility, and the ability to move forward without dragging yesterday’s baggage into today. Why a goldfish? Because it forgets quickly. It doesn’t dwell. It doesn’t have a meltdown. It just swims.

What does that mean for us? It means we can choose to release the sting of a mistake, the weight of a bad day, or the awkwardness of a misstep—and move forward with grace.

I’ve been thinking about that lately—especially as I embark on my own quirky challenge: drinking 30 cups of RYZE mushroom coffee. Yes, mushroom coffee. The kind that tastes like someone scoped a forest floor in hot water and whispered “latte” over it.

Today’s cup? Almond milk. Sugar-free syrup. Still not “yummy,” but we’re inching toward “not so bad.” Progress.

But here’s the thing: every cup is a tiny act of resilience. A moment to say, “Okay, that wasn’t great… but there's only 28, 27,,, cups to go.” Just like the goldfish. Forget the bad sip. Swim forward.

And if anyone doubts my commitment to weird challenges, let me remind you—I once swallowed live goldfish in college for beer money. $5 bucks got you five six-packs of 905 (or Jax beer if you were in San Antonio). The memory of scales scraping my throat and the panic of a fish trying to swim upstream? Unforgettable. But I did it. And I moved on.

So maybe I’ve always been a bit of a goldfish. Not because I forget easily, but because I’ve learned to let go of the uncomfortable, the “what was I thinking?” moments—and kept swimming.

Whether it’s mushroom coffee, embarrassing moments, or tough days at work, we could all use a little goldfish energy. Let go. Reset. Try again tomorrow.

“Don’t cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.” — Aubrey de Grey

Be a goldfish. And maybe… drink a mushroom latte.

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