In order to achieve our big goals we need to focus on becoming a new person. The catch is we can’t become a new person until we learn to be fully grateful for our current one. We can’t take things too seriously on the journey. We learn some wisdom from Ryan Reynolds and The JOKER in this episode.

Don’t Take Life Too Serious

If we are to achieve our goals we will be able to live in a state of abundance much of the time. Even the greatest of thinking minds can find themselves in a pity party. But most of them are pretty good at getting out of it. One way I find helpful is to appreciate how miniscule I am in the grand scheme of things. Appreciating that if we attend a football game we are just one of 100,000 people in that venue, that the earth itself, let alone me is a teeny tiny speck on the universe reminds me not to take myself too seriously.
Sometimes we take wisdom from serious books, or mentors, but we can also find great wisdom in some comedy movies. This is definitely the case when it comes to the movie Van Wilder.
A line from Ryan Reynolds, the veteran college student is perfect advice for day-to-day living. He says “don’t take life too seriously, you’ll never get out alive. There is tremendous wisdom in this line that can really help us when it comes to goal setting. 

Gratitude Is The Key

One of the most important elements of breaking through whatever is holding us back in life is becoming a new person. We become a new person by becoming consciously aware of the “old” habits that we want to change. This is a life long process. We can always become more and more aware of the things we want to shift. In this we are constantly changing and evolving. Now the counterintuitive, possibly confusing thing to realize is that the only way this works is if we are truly, deeply grateful for the person we are today. If we get stuck in a mode of whining, complaining, or feeling sorry for our current person, then we can never become the next person we want to be. 

One of the most valuable ways we can show gratitude is to appreciate everything as it is. Our current situation as it relates to wealth, health, relationships, hobbies and work must be something we deeply appreciate. If we take things too seriously and create way too many emotional ups and downs in any of these areas then we can never grow beyond them. It is possible for us to set goals, develop a mindset of growth and live in our next stage of abundance and positivity. But only once we are not taking our current situation so seriously that we hold ourselves back from the next one.

The Joker Gets It

A great little hack when it comes to achieving this mindset can be to ask ourselves “why so serious?” This line is made famous in a movie a bit darker than Van Wilder, in the Joker, and cues up many other famous quotes such as:

“Nobody panics when things go “according to plan.” Even if the plan is horrifying!”
“They laugh at me because I’m different. I laugh at them because they’re all the same.”

When it comes to living our own lives, while we don’t condone much of what a supervillain stands for, it can be helpful to use quotes like these as well. Understanding that things will almost never go according to plan and that is the normal. Appreciating that in order to prevent regret of the dying we need to find and live our own personal life of genius. Not the life that others plan for us. Not the one that helps us be the same, to fit in, or do what is expected of us. Nope.

Live In YOUR Zone Of Genius

Our zone of genius comes from A. Understanding we have an uncertain future and B. That we must aim to be different, to do what makes us unique. The death bed moment will come before we achieve many of our big dreams. Unfortunately for some of us far before.

This is not a negative thing. Remember, it’s not about grasping the actual thing, it’s about pursuing it. We can have peace with it, if we are pursuing the thing, and remember to not take life too seriously in the meantime.

So figure out, what makes you unique and different that you can offer to the world? Do that.

CONNECT WITH JUSTIN:

Instagram @Justkeeplearning.ca
YouTube – @justkeeplearningpodcast
X – @JustinNolan_JKL
TikTok – @justkeeplearning.ca
Pinterest – justkeeplearningca
Facebook – justkeeplearning
LinkedIn – justinnolan-justkeeplearning