We recently caught the latest Mission: Impossible movie. Usually after five sequels there are diminishing returns as far as enjoyment and box office go.
However, this one was fantastic - maybe the best action movie of the past eight years. There were scenes where you couldn’t separate CGI from a human stunt. Definitely a film to see on the big screen.
Anyway, one of the recurring situations is that the hero, Tom Cruise, consistently sacrifices the fate of the world in order to save just one person. In this case he gives up plutonium BOMBs in exchange for his teammate’s life.
He can get the bombs later but he can’t get his buddy’s life back. Now we know this is just a film and it seems quite ridiculous to do something like that.
Or is it?
I think we do it all the time.
There are many instances, probably parenting comes to mind for most, where we give up or pause everything for the sake of someone else. It can be your career, health and fitness, and even your marriage. You'll get to it later.
But what if the opposite were true?
What if you worked just as hard on everything you were about to pause.
What if you can continue to get better in your career, keep working on your health and try and hold dearly onto your weekly date night?
How would that help in becoming a better parent/partner/human?
It probably seems like an impossible mission (🧐) to do all this.
However, the other theme of the movie is Tom Cruise’s battle with himself for acceptance (or rejection) of who he really is. Is it worth trying to relentlessly save the world at the cost of all his relationships?
So your mission, if you choose to accept it (really pushing the cheese button now), is to take a moment to think about what is normally worth sacrificing in the relentless pursuit of something else.
Then ask yourself what if the total opposite is really the way to go?
You keep working out while you start that new job. You work on your marriage even when a kid comes along.
What could that look like and how could it actually help you in that relentless pursuit of who you're meant to be?
Kevin & Victoria
P.S. We realize the hero’s name is Ethan Hunt and not Tom Cruise. But at a rate of 20 smug smiles per film, regardless of subject, can we just take every character he plays and call them Tom Cruise?
Anyone agree? No? Okay, we’ll grab our coat.
