Because We Can’t Do Anything We Want, No Matter How Hard We Try
One of my favorite movies of all time is Disney’s Monster’s University, the prequel to Monsters Inc. Why is this one of my favorites? Because it teaches that we can’t do anything we want, no matter how hard we try. This is counter to almost all inspirational messages, and for me, the limitations are freeing.
The Movie
At the heart of Monster’s University is Mike Wazowski, a small, non-scary, one-eyed monster who has been overlooked his whole life, but whose can-do, positive attitude makes you fall in love with him from the first time you see him on the screen.
For those of you who don’t know what he looks like, check out these Google images. Mike’s biggest dream is to be a Scarer at Monsters Inc factory where they procure children’s screams for energy. This dream is the monster all-star equivalent of becoming Aaron Rodgers (okay, or any other star player you choose to put here).
Mike is admitted to the Scarer program at the university where he faces people’s skepticism about his abilities to scare with meticulous hard work and brilliant mastery of every scaring technique known to the monster world.
However, his expertise and mastery aren’t enough. Remember, Mike isn’t scary. As Mike’s schooling goes on, it becomes clear that he won’t make the cut to stay in the program. With many shenanigans, he and Sulley, the monster who would become his best friend, get kicked out of Monster’s University.
Ultimately Mike and Sulley end up working their way through entry-level positions to become partners on the Scare floor, where Sulley is a Scarer, but Mike is not. He’s not a Scarer or the Robin to Batman of the Scare plant, he’s a second-string player.
The Real Life Application
Why do I love this story so much? Because even with a ton of hard work, there are going to be things we never do. Sometimes it’s because we are not apt to do it. Other times it’s because we don’t have the same opportunities as others. And while I have some influence over my aptitude, and I can work hard, there are some dreams, I’ll likely never achieve.
At the outset, I said these limitations are often freeing. Why? Three reasons:
- Because it allows me to dream
- It allows me the freedom to move on
- It gives me the ability to embrace the unexpected
When I was a child, I wanted to be a television broadcaster. There were a lot of limitations to this dream, many of which were self-imposed (I’ll never be thin enough, pretty enough, blonde enough). However, there were other limitations. In college, I resented the evening and weekend hours of the broadcast classes and the school clubs connected to media.
The dream was good. When I tried my hand at the dream, I knew I wouldn’t survive the limitations, and knowing that gave me freedom to move on. For some of us we get stuck on the goal, and when we discover we won’t make the cut or we don’t love the dream anymore, we see it as failure instead of freedom. Not sure about you, but the perspective of freedom to adjust and adapt is a lot more attractive than being stuck in failure I can’t move past.
Last, the freedom to move on helps me embrace the unexpected. For Mike Wazowski, he worked with Sulley as his Robin for years. Then the unexpected happened, they learned that children’s laughter produces way more energy than children’s screams. And, guess who wasn’t scary, but who was funny? Yep, Mike Wazowski.
Dream Big But Be Flexible
It’s good to dream. It’s also good to see dreams as flexible because it gives us the freedom to move on and embrace the unexpected. A lesson we can all learn from Monster’s University.
Go dream this week, and hold your dreams loosely, because even with hard work you may not accomplish your dream. That’s okay, there are other dreams out there waiting for you.
P.S. If you haven’t seen the movie or if you haven’t seen it in a while, it’s worth a trip to the library!
Keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant, Sarah Gibson, helps organizations leverage the power of communication, teamwork, and diversity to improve engagement and transform teams. To buy her book or inquire about her speaking programs, please visit www.sarahjgibson.com.
