#1899 Turn Off the TV

In our last +1, we chatted about Emerson’s enthusiasm.

More specifically, I celebrated Emerson Aurelius Johnson’s enthusiasm by quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson’s wisdom on the subject.

Note: That Emerson quote is one of the handful I’ve memorized and recited to myself WAY OVER 1,000+++ times.

I typed it out from memory.

Here it is again: “Ralph Waldo once said: ‘Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with ALL your might. Put your WHOLE soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active. Be energetic. Be enthusiastic and faithful and you will accomplish your objective. NOTHING great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.’”

Now…

I started that +1 by sharing how Emerson and I spent our morning—FaceTiming Mommy and Eleanor then getting some AM sun then doing a quick AM opening series with a few burpees then getting some ice for the ice bath I’ll be taking soon.

But…

I didn’t quite accurately reflect how our day began.

Technically, our morning didn’t begin that morning…

Our morning, as you know if you’ve been following along (and have gone through our Heroic Coach program, etc.) began THE NIGHT BEFORE.

Here’s a quick recap of how that went down…

Emerson’s third and final match of the day yesterday began at 7:00 p.m.

We dominated our pre-match protocol—which ALWAYS includes a quick walk and 33 burpees and, 95% of the time, it includes listening to a 1-min voice memo-meditation Mommy created called “Emerson Chess Declarations” that has a series of declarations set to Rocky music.

Hah. 😆

After that quick protocol, Emerson walks in to match ready to dominate.

Chest up. Chin down.

Breathing in through his nose. Down into his belly. Exhale slightly longer than his inhale.

With a smile.

Switch has been flipped.

Command posture activated.

LET’S GO!

Now…

Once I dropped him off for his match, I went back to our hotel room and had to figure out how I was going to watch BOTH of the Heroic teams that were playing that night.

We had Notre Dame playing in their season opener at Texas A&M (which I would have gone to if I wasn’t Wingman-ing it for Emerson!) and Toronto FC at home against D.C. United.

So…

I’ve got the Notre Dame football game up on the hotel TV screen (which is probably the third time I’ve watched ANYTHING on a TV screen this year…) AND I’ve got the TFC game on Apple TV on my computer.

PERFECT.

Fast-forward…

It’s 9:00 p.m.

Toronto FC lost a tough one. Gah.

Notre Dame is tied 6 to 6 in a tough game at half-time.

And…

Emerson walks into the room…

My heart skips a beat in anticipation of the results as it has after EVERY SINGLE ONE of the 100+ tournament games he’s played so far!

And…

He says: “I WON!!!”

To which I say: “DUDE!! Congratulations. 3-0. LET’S GO!”

Then he sees that the game is on and he says: “Oh, cool! Notre Dame’s playing?!”

To which I say: “YES!”

Then I immediately turned the game off.

And I told him: “And THAT’s not important right now. YOUR big game is.”

I continued by saying something along the lines of: “Sports are awesome. It’s fun to see people performing at a high level and cheering on your favorite team. But… Ultimately, they’re showing you what YOU can do. And, this weekend we have way more important things to do than watch anyone else compete. Let’s work our P.M. protocol and get you to bed so you’re ready to dominate tomorrow!”

Then I asked him to tell me ALL about the game he just played.

He walked me through the moves—replaying the game in his head and sharing the big moves.

As always, I got about 60% of what he was saying.

And I celebrated with 101% enthusiasm.

And…

THAT’s how this morning began—with a deliberately well-executed P.M. protocol as we remembered that TODAY started YESTERDAY.

And…

That’s Today’s +1.

Let’s remember that WE ARE THE HEROES of our own stories as we celebrate those who show us how it’s done AND, most importantly, commit to the protocols that will help us do the same.

It’s Day 1.

We’re ALL IN.

LET’S GO!

P.S. My heart just skipped a beat as I looked at the clock and saw the countdown to his next match is on. Time to go execute the protocol!

P.P.S. Notre Dame won their tough season opener. Go fighting Irish!!!

P.P.P.S. We didn’t check the results of the game until AFTER I had committed to my Heroic protocol and done a few minutes of meditation and Emerson had done HIS protocol of doing at least ONE ChessTempo puzzle for the day to keep his streak alive. He’s at 217 days in a row.