Oh yeah, Bob Wiley! Isn’t that the Nobel Peace prize winner? No wait, he’s a brain surgeon, or is it my trainer? Nope. Bob is the zany character from “What About Bob?”, played by Bill Murray. Did you guess it correctly? If so, you win a free coaching session! Just go to my website (www.fullpotentialcc.net) and sign up today 😊
For those that haven't had the pleasure of seeing What About Bob?, it's a must see. Bob is the main character, and lives life in fear. He is described as “almost paralyzed by multi phobic personality, in a constant state of panic; characterized by acute separation anxiety.” (Oz, 1991)
Ok, so what’s the point? Well, I recently watched it with some of my kids and it impacted me a little different than the first time I saw it. Back in the early 90s I watched and laughed at him and accepted it as a comedy. This time, while I still found it humorous, it struck me as a story of growth (overcoming fears, learning new perspectives and decision making).
Early in the movie he goes to see his new therapist and says “To put it simply…I have problems.” If we are honest with ourselves, we all have a little Bob Wiley in us. While Bob’s problems are a bit extreme, and his tactics to deal with them are even more extreme, we all have fears, moments of stress/anxiety, and even moments of panic.
I won’t give away the whole movie but to give you some context, Bob believes that if he fakes diseases or behaviors, he won’t get them (ie cardiac arrest). Funny, right? Well unfortunately, many of us fake certain aspects of our lives to avoid disappointing others, or to avoid being judged, or even to mentally get ourselves through a challenging situation. I’ll admit that there have been times in my career that I didn’t show up as my true self; I did it to avoid confrontation. I look back now and realize I was faking.
But through self-discovery and focused development efforts, I have made strides and show up as my authentic self even in the worst of situations or challenges. As Bob put it “I’m doing the work! I’m baby stepping! I’m not a slacker!”.
So, the next time you are feeling anxious, or your fears start to impact your decision making, take some advice from Bob, rub your temples and repeat the following “I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful.” No, no, no. While that would be funny for me, it’s probably best to take a more productive approach, like "baby steps”.
Comments