If you’re anything like me, you might have come into work this morning with a brain that’s half-comatose from all the TV you watched over the Thanksgiving break. Maybe you watched TV for more hours than you even slept.
You definitely watched TV for more time than you spent talking to the “loved ones” you see only once a year, for the big meal. Of that much, I’m sure.
The list of “big games” goes on and on. But it doesn’t get any better.
What did I get out of seeing all these games? Were these games really so special - so important – that I had to watch every minute of them?
Between all these games, a little SportsCenter (highlights of the same big games I just watched - ugh), and the other TV shows, I would say I put in a 40-hour TV week. At least.
My hand had such a tight grip on the remote that I couldn’t let it go. I had to hold it while I slept last night.
But here’s the question – how much of these games will I remember in a few days? Or even tomorrow? Anything?
So why did I spend all this time watching them??
I love sports – it’s inspiring, and entertaining, and touching. Heck, it’s my business!
But if I multiply weeks like this past one over the course of my life, I begin to see how much time I’ve wasted watching “The Big Game” when it wasn’t a big game at all.
When is enough enough? When am I just zapping my brain cells, with nothing to show for them?
Was I studying to be the spokesperson for couch potatoes everywhere? I’m as bad as my kids used to be, with the video games I thought they were addicted to.
So today I’ve decided: If I’m watching a “Big Game,” I’m going to make a point to do some other things while I watch. I’m going to multitask: send work emails; write thank you notes; shop for holiday gifts; read some good articles; watch some good TED talks, etc. And I’m going to work out during some of the more meaningless big games.
In short, I’m gonna keep half of my brain cells – and muscle cells - active. I’m going to protect them!
And I’m not going to use the term “Big Game” anymore. How many “Big Games” can there be before my wife doesn’t believe they’re actually big enough for me to keep the TV on? How many “Big Games” can there be in one single week?
I’m going to schedule which games I watch in advance, to make sure they’re worthy of my time. Because it’s my time! My life is the big game! My brain is the big game! I need to be watching those games a bit more.
I need to see if I can survive without knowing who won the “Battle for Atlantis” the moment it happens. I need to make sure that won’t kill me.
What’s your favorite “Big Game” that’s not really a very big game? Leave your comment below.
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My “big game” is talking (and listening) too much—to anyone and everyone about everything. I’ve been reprimanded for it since elementary school to present day, and obviously nothing will change. Ears on anything to me are a distraction when I need to get serious stuff accomplished. Probably why I hate being serious.
My “big game” would have to be social media. While entertaining, it’s time I can’t get back that I should be spending with family & friends truly laughing and loving our lives together rather than using emojis.
The Big Game is a game I have been playing with friends for over 25 years – a D&D session that has no winners. It’s about hanging out, being social and being with people!
My favorite “Big Game” is usually a random Tuesday night Yankee game in the middle of July against the Royals or some other sub .500 team. It’s a good excuse to not go food shopping, do laundry, or, dare I say it, DO THE DISHES! I think we are so programmed that every Yankee is a big game we fail to realize that one game in July, in all reality, is meaningless unless we are winning series all season long.
The “game” of life. Everyday I wake up, I just try to make “today” a better day then yesterday. If everyone did that, the world would be a better place. It doesn’t matter if it’s my family, work or just a pickup game of Basketball, everything to some degree is a “game”. Thus every moment is big. Of course there’s some bigger then others, but I believe once you start minimizing some of them, you begin to let down your guard for when the big “game time” moment comes!