In this solo Heroic Plus One episode, Brian Johnson recounts a chess match where Emerson, a strong player, began to fidget wildly as pressure mounted against a prodigious 10‑year‑old female opponent. Brian observes that Emerson’s fidgeting—leg twitching, restless movements—was a physical manifestation of escalating fear that undermined his performance. Drawing on the mind‑body principle that bodily habits shape mental state, Brian advises immediate awareness and cessation of fidgeting, arguing that a calm, confident physical presence leads to a calm, confident mind. He shares that after confronting Emerson about his fidgeting and encouraging him to stop, Emerson’s posture steadied and he played the rest of the tournament with composure and success. Brian also references John Maxwell’s new book, How to Get a Return on Failure, as a reminder that failures are powerful growth opportunities. The episode ends with a call to subscribe and a plug for the Heroic platform’s resources for personal optimization.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Heroic Plus One, continuing our exploration of micro moments of practicing and teaching philosophy to those we love. Let's go back to that game where Emerson freaked out his words for a little more practical wisdom goodness. First, know this: our biggest failures are nearly always our most powerful opportunities to grow. If all caps dot dot dot exclamation points. If we approach them with the right mindset. Side note, I'm reading John Maxwell's latest book. It's called How to Get a Return on Failure. It is awesome. Note soon. So Emerson, as you may recall, expected his match to be easy after he started strong, which made little sense considering the fact that his opponent was the youngest female in U.S. history to earn the women's FIDE master title. Yeah, she was also a tiny little 10-year-old girl, but she was also a beast over the board. So during the match, as it went longer and longer and she kept on applying more and more pressure, I was watching this game, right? Emerson started fidgeting more and more and more. And I don't think I've ever— all caps, exclamation points— ever seen him twitch his legs up and down as much and as fast as he was doing. Doing during that match. Now, what's interesting is that I've been noticing the fact that he, like nearly every other chess player, has been fidgeting like that more and more. And I actually mentioned it to him briefly weeks before. He told me it helps him think. I wasn't buying it, but even I have limits on the margins I'm trying to help him dominate. So I let it go. And as I watched this world-class fidget fest and the accompanying fear freakout, play out in front of my eyes, I knew we'd be chatting about it. And I knew that solving for this one seemingly small behavior would help defuse the whole cycle of escalating fear. So we chatted about it. We talked about the fact that our minds and our bodies are connected, and that when we allow our bodies to engage in suboptimal behaviors, whether that's fidgeting or nail biting or hunching over or whatever, It affects our minds. Stated positively, if we assume a powerful physical presence, that also affects our psychology. As we discuss all the time in the context of eating, moving, and sleeping, our physiology drives a lot more of our psychology than most of us realize. So I had a very strong sense that if I could help him bring awareness to his fidgeting, Then encourage him to stop fidgeting the moment he noticed it, everything would change. His body would stay relaxed, calm, and confident, and so would his mind. And goosebumps, that's exactly what happened. He didn't fidget the rest of the tournament, and he played like the Boss with a capital B, with calm confidence and poised composure we've come to expect. And that's today's Plus One. You fidget? If so, stop. It's weak. And to quote Rocky going off on his son, I got a link to this video, that's not like you. Awesome scene. Let's master our bodies and master our minds all day, every day, especially today. Hey, this is Brian. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me today. If you enjoyed it, please hit subscribe so that the best of the show keeps landing in your feed. Then head over to heroic.us, that's heroic.us, where you'll find the full library of wisdom I've created over the last 20 years, as well as the app, advanced training programs, coaching, and everything else we've built to help you optimize your life, actualize your potential, and live heroically. It is day 1. We are all in. Let's go.
