I just got back from Greece, and my internal clock hasn’t readjusted to Houston time yet, so I was up long before the sun this morning. I could have gotten out of bed, reacquainted myself with my Peleton, done some work or tried to get some additional zzzzzs. But instead, I settled in to watch the series finale of Ted Lasso.

Ted Lasso was born during the pandemic lockdown when the whole world needed something good. If you’re never watched an episode, Ted Lasso is the story of a Kansas football coach who moved across the ocean to manage a Premiere League soccer team, and slowly won over the players, owner, and fans with nothing more than his heart. He knew nothing about soccer, and he didn’t care about winning matches. He just wanted to help his players become better versions of themselves.

As I laughed, and even cried, through the series finale this morning, I appreciated that we got to have Ted in our lives for the last three years, and I’ll miss him.

Ted defined success as impact not as winning, as connection not as hustle. For a protagonist in a sports story, that’s rare. All the stories we love to watch, and the great players and coaches are all lauded for never giving up, for having superhuman drive, for their relentless pursuit of perfection.

Ted’s story is different. And Lasso’s Way can be applied on the pitch or in the conference room or to life in general.

Be yourself.

Ted is a corny fella from middle America with a Dad joke always at the ready. He doesn’t know anything about soccer, or as the rest of the world outside of the US calls it, football, and he doesn’t pretend to. He knows he can impact the players without understanding the fundamentals of their game because he understands fundamental human nature. And while he’s keenly aware that his new team doesn’t respect him, yet, he doesn’t let it change anything about who he is. He knows something that most of us struggle to learn: you can impact the people around you just by being yourself.

Be kind.

When Ted arrives, he’s greeted with shouts of “wanker!” from fans. Those are hard to miss. But even if it doesn’t seem like it, the subtle insults aren’t missed, either. Ted knows that people think he’s going to fail at his job. Ted knows they want him to fail at his job. That they think he’s simple, stupid even, and certainly not fit to manage AFC Richmond. But still, Ted is kind. He’s kind to the old fan that calls him a “wanker” every time he passes by. He’s kind to his boss Rebecca who just hired him to ruin the team her ex-husband loves. He’s kind to the press who is chomping at the bit to trip him up and see him fail. He’s kind to the former kit man turned assistant coach thanks to Ted’s support who tore up Ted’s iconic “Believe” sign and left to coach a rival team. Ted knows that being kind is a gift to those who receive it, but more than that, it’s a gift to yourself.

Be a goldfish.

Ted shares this little nugget with Sam Obisanya after he missed blocking Jamie Tartt in training. Jamie was a loudmouth, and he called Sam out for the miss, which raised the thick eyebrows of team captain Roy Kent. Sam, a very talented but humble player, apologized to Ted for the miss, and Ted told him to be a goldfish.

We’re harder on ourselves when we make mistakes than we’d ever be on others. Another weapon in Ted’s “how to be happy” arsenal is simply forgetting it and moving on. Learn the lesson the mistake presented, certainly, but Ted knows that time spent making yourself feel bad for making it is always time wasted.

Be open to new things.

A viral video of Ted doing the “running man” after his Division II Wichita State Shockers football team won the national championship caught the attention of the new AFC Richmond owner. She had hoped to find someone to ruin the team her ex-husband dearly loved and figured this dorky Kansas college football coach was the right person for the job. Ted hopped a plane to England, along with his sidekick Coach Beard, and figured he’d learn what he needed to learn when he arrived. Many of us can’t jump feet first into new adventures without preparation, and in many cases, it wouldn’t be wise to. But Ted was willing to try something new, many somethings, actually. He moved more than an ocean away from everything and everyone he knew to do a job he knew almost nothing about. But Ted was confident in his own ability to figure everything out along the way.

Be curious, not judgmental.

Ted actually teaches this lesson while wagering over darts with Rebecca’s awful ex-husband Rupert in the local pub. Rupert is a rich, pompous womanizer whose polite disdain for Ted is obvious, and he rarely misses a chance to make Rebecca feel small. His new wife bought shares in Rebecca’s team, which would have allowed them to sit in Rebecca’s owner’s box. Ted stepped in and challenged Rupert to a game of darts.

Ted points out while throwing perfectly aimed darts that people have underestimated him his entire life. And if they had just been curious, rather than judgmental, maybe they would have learned something about him and not assumed whatever they assumed about him. Like when Rupert assumed he wasn’t skilled at darts. He was, and he won, and Rebecca bought the pub a round. Ted knows that we judge each other, and if we instead spent more time learning about each other, asking questions, and being curious, we’ll all be better because of it.

Believe.

The most recognized symbol from Ted Lasso is the homemade yellow and blue “believe” sign he hung crookedly above the door from the locker room to the coaches’ office. It’s not well-received by his new team, but it doesn’t matter to Ted. He believes in hope. He believes in believe. And we learn that Ted struggles with pain, and loss, and remorse, and heartbreak like all of us do. But he still believes. He believes in the good of others. He believes that his team can achieve great things. He believes that we’re all better together.

And Ted is right.

Life Lessons from Ted Lasso