My Favourite Childhood Movie + A Life Lesson I'll Never Forget

"If you're not enough without it you'll never be enough with it"

I recently re-watched my favourite childhood movie, Cool Runnings, and it got me all nostalgic.

It would be impossible to find someone who didn’t like this film or feel good as a result of watching it.

But there’s one scene in particular that I’ve always loved but was reminded of again.

In it, the coach, played by the late John Candy, talks with Derice about winning, the desire to have more, and his reason for cheating.

The two have an incredible interaction:

Coach: You see, Derice, I’ve made winning my whole life. And when you make winning your whole life, you have to keep on winning, no matter what, you understand that?

Derice: No, I don’t understand, Coach. You had two gold medals, you had it all.

Coach: Derice, a gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you’re not enough without it, you’ll never be enough with it.

Derice: Hey Coach, how will I know if I’m enough?

Coach: When you cross that finish line, you’ll know.

This interaction uncovers one of the most significant lies we tell ourselves:

“If I get [X], then I’ll be happy.”

It’s easy to convince myself that my happiness lies in some external event:

• More money

• Better job

• Fancy new stuff

• Recognition

However, the “if, then” trap is a dangerous thing because whenever I’ve summited a mountain I’ve seen that my happiness just reappears in the distance - on some other mountain far away.

Real satisfaction and happiness is an inside job - the rest is just an opportunity to explore what that is.

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Now it’s your turn…

What’s your favourite childhood movie? And why?