I saw a movie in college that helped rewire the way I see the world. It was the end of my freshman year, and a guy in my dorm wanted to see a movie at the theater. Problem: He didn't have a car. Solution: I did. Therefore, he offered me a free movie ticket if I would drive. I didn't know anything about the movie, the actors, or the director. I went in cold....and the movie melted my brain.
It's called Memento. It was one of Christopher Nolan's first films, before he was THE Christopher Nolan. For the past 25 years, I'd put it in my top five list (currently ranked #59 on IMDb's all-time best movies list). After nearly a decade without seeing it, I watched it on the plane ride home last night. Even after seeing it countless times, it still melted my brain!
I'm not going to share much about it, because I need you to go watch it! However, I want to share a principle from the movie that's had a huge impact on me. We don't have to live or view life linearly. Conventional wisdom tells us we need to sequence ourselves through life in a set cadence. We do this, then this, then that. There's a right and wrong way to live. Then, if we choose a path that's incongruent with "normal," people look at us like we're idiots.
Believe me, I've had a LOT of people look at me like an idiot these past ten years. For the first 35 years of my life, I followed the perfect script. I sequenced through life as determined as a toddler reciting the ABCs. I did what I was supposed to, never considering this idea given to me from Memento should perhaps play a role in the broader journey.
Then, I chose the path less traveled. Instead of living a life guided by sequence, I chose a life guided by meaning. It was a shock to my system, for sure, but in hindsight, I can't imagine going back to my old ways of thinking.
Instead of asking ourselves what we're supposed to do, we ought to ask ourselves what we're called to do......regardless of how it looks through society's lens, regardless of what others might think of us.
I get asked the same question again and again, typically by people who don't necessarily love what they are doing: "How can I take a different path?"
The answer is painfully simple and excruciatingly hard: By taking a different path. Taking action. Moving forward. Putting one foot in front of the other. Oh yeah, by also deciding you're not living life for the opinion of others. Not every step will be a naturally linear step forward. Sometimes it might look like a jagged, zigzagging line. That’s not called failure; that’s called life.
Two challenges today:
Go watch Memento
Choose YOUR path
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