Toilet time = Tourney Time

There are just some things you can never “unsee” -- no matter how badly you wish you could.

For me, there is something I wish my wife, Dawn, could “unsee”.  It is a decades-old image I am sure she still cannot shake.

Nineteen years ago today (not to the day necessarily but the opening morning of the 1994 NCAA Basketball Tournament [which was 3/17/94, so technically it was 19 years + 4 days ago]), my wife popped home unexpectedly around the noon hour.  What she found was me, on the toilet, bathroom door open, laptop fittingly placed, cordless phone and pager at my feet and the TV in the living room on loudly.  

I was embarrassed.  We had only been married a few months.  Without a doubt, this was the type of sight which could bring the proverbial “honeymoon” phase of a marriage to an end abruptly. 

She laughed uneasily, shook her head and pulled the door closed.

“Hey!” I exclaimed.  Embarrassment and end of the honeymoon notwithstanding, I needed to be able to watch the NCAA Tournament!  I am almost a little ashamed to admit I lifted from the bowl just enough to fling the door back open.  But c’mon, this is opening day of March Madness! 

My bathroom break was carefully planned.  Unlike today when I can just grab the iPad and watch the games streaming live, I needed to have a clear sight-line to our behemoth tubed television.  I also needed to have my cool Cobra “Intenna” cordless phone nearby (it was cutting-edge, as-seen-on-Seinfeld).  

I had forwarded my calls from my office to my home phone.  I had my pager nearby (no cell phone then) in case of emergencies.  My tiny Mac laptop had no internet capabilities (not even a color screen) but I brought into the “loo” not to surf the web but to actually do some work.

I had honestly scheduled this event (eat your heart out, Dr. Sheldon Cooper) to allow me maximum bowel evacuation and basketball-watching while providing for what I anticipated to be a minimum of disruption via phone, pager or unexpected visiting wife.

I am not proud Dawn had to experience that.  I am not one of those husbands who thinks bodily functions are family fun time.  My level modesty in that regard is quite high...

...except during March Madness, I guess.

My desire to watch the games outweighed my typical desire for privacy and propriety.

This post may run the risk of having some of you who know me think less of me.  But, truth is truth...I really, really wanted to watch those games.

The principle of this experience was not lost on me.  

It is amazing what can be done when we put HAVE TOs to our WANT TOs.

The philosopher Plato said, “Human behavior flows from three main sources:  desire, emotion and knowledge.”

I don’t think it is a mistake (or merely a matter of alphabetizing) “desire” was the first source Plato mentions.  When we WANT TO enough, we often can find a way or, if necessary, make a way.  Many times our accomplishments in life are a matter of the level of desire we have.

That is not to say all you have to do is “want”.  You need to figure out how to put “have to”s to our “want to”s.  Once that happens, we find ourselves willing to possibly go beyond what conventional wisdom may dictate.  Once that happens, we find ourselves making and executing plans that are helpful instead of merely thinking thoughts which are wishful.

What is on your “want to” list?

• Diet?
• Exercise?
• Relationships?
• Hobbies?
• More time spent doing something?
• LESS time spent doing something?
• Prayer?
• Bible reading?
• Learning a skill?

- The possibilities are limitless.

Of those things, which ones warrant “HAVE TO”s?  Which things are honestly so important you’re willing to change what you typically do and put yourself at risk of possible embarrassment?  Which ones matter enough for you to start to strategize the steps needed to move towards them?  Which ones need to be moved from the “want to” list to the “have to” list (don’t worry, it is okay to keep the other items, too)?

I am not trying to oversimplify things (nor am I trying to paint a mental picture...please, for your own sake, do not try to envision what I described in the outset of this post).  But, it really does kind of come down to just that.  When we want things badly enough, we are more likely to stop simply pining for them and begin planning for (and producing) them.  Find a way.  Make a way.

That fateful Thursday genuinely showed me what I’m capable of...and has challenged me ever since. 

Enjoy the start of the Tournament (if you’re into that sort of thing)...and rest assured, thanks to modern technology my bathroom door will remain closed and locked -- just don’t be alarmed if you hear Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkle in there with me.