The Mist Level Panic

You may be reading this while your part of the world feels like it has entered an apocalyptic movie.

I’m not saying that to make light of the global situation that is COVID-19, but truly normalize the experience that we are all having right now.

While I’m not trained to offer any sort of medical opinion on this matter, I did find that the vibe these days was great inspiration to share an unexpected lesson I got from the movie The Mist.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, here is the abridged version (spoilers ahead):

The Mist is a thriller/horror film based on the Stephen King novel. One day in modern America, a thick mist coats the entire country. Inside of this mist lurks monsters of indescribable horror who are hunting humans to devour. The movie follows a group of protagonists that do all that they can to survive this horror, even as some of them don’t make it through each obstacle they face.

At the end of the film, our final five are fleeing by car when the gas tank runs empty. One protagonist makes the decision to mercy kill the remaining four so that they do not have to face being ripped apart. When the deed is done, he steps out of the car to meet his fate – but instead, the U.S. Army emerges from the mist, revealing that the threat has been eliminated and peace is about to be restored.

Dark ending, right?

Well the unexpected lesson I personally take from such an ending is that if you are on the verge of mercy killings, maybe let the scenario play out for ten more minutes, first.

Okay, I admit that’s some dark humor.

I want to be clear; I don’t believe we entering horror movie level threats right now.

But I do believe that the COVID-19 situation illuminates a particular pattern we are all guilty of, regardless of whether the situation is dire – like disease or famine – or less intense, like having a weight goal or building a business.

The pattern is in the way we respond to the moment when things feel toughest or scariest. I would assert that for most of us, at some point in life, when the going got its toughest, we got going. We wanted relief, for the suffering to be over already. We chose our own metaphorical “mercy kill” – which was likely quitting, coming up with excuses, or insisting why something else needed our time and attention more.

And just like in the movie, what is devastating about this mercy moment is that just on the other side of all of that hardship and discomfort is the thing we were after all along. The goal fulfilled. The success achieved. The hard work worth it.

At this point you may be thinking, “but Christina, that was a movie. It was a plot device for them to not know help was on the way. So, how would I know?”

I’m not here to tell you that it’s only about having blind faith in the process. While having a spiritual connection that is that rock solid with the universe doesn’t hurt, I get that not everyone is there in their process.

Instead, I think it is a matter of looking at what you need to put in place to have resilience and stamina that are sufficient to continuing on, even when the going gets tough.

So how do you build up resilience?

I believe it starts with who you surround yourself with. What I noticed about The Mist was that all of the protagonists had the same resilience. They made it to nearly the end of the movie, which was pretty resilient. Still, at the moment of talking about mercy, all of them bought into it.

So similarly, if you find yourself working to achieve ambitious goals surrounded by people who are quick to give up, or buy into excuses or circumstances, then of course they aren’t going to question you or stand for you when you decide enough is enough.

What you need to do is surround yourself with the people who won’t take that shit. Who push through resistance themselves. Who fight for what they want. Who are willing to stay elevated and remember the big picture, even when things feel really scary or hard.

I can say with certainty that coaches fit this mold, but take a look at who else in your life is consistent in achieving what they want and whether you can lean on them for stamina and influence.

If there is one point I want to drive home this week (besides outing myself as a Stephen King fan), it’s to really notice for yourself how often you give in to the experience of wanting to quit rather than training up your resolve to allow 10 more minutes of faith, 10 more minutes of tenacity, or 10 more minutes of stamina to find out what is on the other side.

The thing you want is right there… if you are willing to keep going.