Have you ever seen Labyrinth, starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly? It’s a 1986 movie that features the combined talents of Jim Henson and George Lucas. The film is weird, remarkable, and freaky…in a good way.
In the movie, a young Jennifer Connelly (Sarah) is aggravated with her life and role as perpetual babysitter to her younger brother (Toby). She wishes the Goblin King, a character from her favorite fairytale, would come take him away forever. Unfortunately for her, the Goblin King (Bowie) hears the request and obliges.
In order to save Toby, Sarah embarks on a long adventure through the Goblin King’s Labyrinth to save him.
Very early on in the labyrinth Sarah becomes befuddled. No matter how far or fast she runs, she can’t find any turns in the maze. It just seems endless and straight. She resolves to solve this puzzle by running even harder and faster down the corridor.
After what seems like an eternity of running, Sarah becomes flustered and stops. While agonizing over her fate, she hears a strange voice…
So What?
At first Sarah’s journey seemed pretty simple – all she had to do was run as hard and fast as possible and she would eventually find the solution. However, she quickly realized the limited scope of her progress as she simply ran the preset path without thinking.
Eventually she paused…and met someone who was able to change her perspective. It turns out the improvement she was looking for miles down her current path existed right where she was standing.
In fact, had she been a little more patient, she could have learned even more.
In your training you can bang full steam ahead as long as you want, but there’s no guarantee it will get you where you want to go. The walls will dictate you if you let them.
Always listen to a humble worm when it’s trying to show you other perspectives. Talk to as many worms as possible. Listen for as long as possible. Become a worm yourself.
