Our daily struggles might have more going for them than we first think. Imagine tripping on the coffee table and thinking, “Gee, it sure is nice to have toes to stub!” A little perspective goes a long way. So “rock bottom” may sound like a terrible place to find oneself, but it also could make a solid place to push off from. This week’s video: a serious lesson from a funny show.
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For a show where “nothing happens,” there’s still something captivating about Seinfeld! Maybe it’s how the characters show up for each other and keep at it, even when life is absurd. Is our own support system pointing us in the right direction?
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As we navigate our working years, there will be times of uncertainty. We may question our motivations, our goals, or the impact we are making. We may be searching for a partner to share the journey. We may wonder what it is we’re working toward. Questioning things is completely normal.
There was a fictional group of friends who were often switching careers, struggling in their romantic lives, and just trying to find their way. Anyone else remember Seinfeld? Okay, so it’s hard to say that this show represented “normal,” but it’s all relative, huh?
Seinfeld follows the lives of four friends in New York: Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer. Each character has their own goals, career paths, hardships, and hangups—their lives couldn’t be more different, but they supported one another through it all. Sometimes it takes tough love, but they keep each other humble. (Like when Jerry has to break the news to Elaine that her dancing is atrocious.)
Life can get complicated; Seinfeld reminds us to work with the hand we’ve been dealt. George always tries to take things with a grain of salt. As he once said, “Divorce is very difficult. Especially on a kid. Of course, I’m the result of my parents having stayed together, so you never know.” (George’s life could sometimes be a mess, but hey, we all have troubles!)
The show reminds us that while starting over can be scary, it can also be exhilarating. We get to experience “firsts” all over again. Elaine is a good example. There’s the first time meeting new coworkers, the first time holding hands on a date, the first time we get a fresh paycheck and get to decide what to do with it. Elaine shows us that it only takes a little energy—and maybe a commercial break—to jump back into it. All these opportunities wouldn’t be available if we didn’t keep putting ourselves out there.
There is never going to be a perfect way to handle a hard situation. But that doesn’t mean we can ignore our challenges, to never learn or grow. Kramer tends to think of his life as “doing what I do, the way I’ve always done it, the way I’ll always do it,” but that won’t get most of us very far.
It’s good to remember why we keep at it, too. We don’t want to be like Jerry and think, “Why do I always have the feeling that everybody’s doing something better than me on Saturday afternoons?” We don’t need the same plans as everyone else: we need the plans that work for us, the ones we actually want to be enjoying!
Do our actions align with our goals? Is there anything we could be doing differently? The funny this is, Seinfeld is known for being a show “about nothing,” so it does give us a chance to think about what all this is adding up to. Are we headed for a retirement like Jerry’s parents, with a condo in The Pines of Mar Gables? Are our plans, our support system, and everything else pointing us in the right direction?
Seinfeld may resonate with some of us because we enjoy comedy, but we also enjoy the fact that the characters show up for each other and keep at it, time after time, even when life is at its most absurd. It’s not a bad reminder.
Whether you’re starting a new job, a new relationship, or a new stage in your journey, we wish you the best. It’s aways better if you can lean on your friends and get some laughs in along the way.
Call or email us, anytime—our perspectives are free, just like your friends’.
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Our daily struggles might have more going for them than we first think. Imagine tripping on the coffee table and thinking, “Gee, it sure is nice to have toes to stub!” A little perspective goes a long way. So “rock bottom” may sound like a terrible place to find oneself, but it also could make a solid place to push off from. This week’s video: a serious lesson from a funny show.
Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.
Friends, some of us became acquainted with each other when one (or both) of us was in a moment of crisis. Loss can come in many forms, at any period of life. Some are thrown for a loop after being laid off or taking retirement earlier than they’d imagined. Sometimes a death or illness shifts everything in a family. Maybe debt or other baggage from an earlier chapter catches up with us in this one.
A new low is not a fun place to find ourselves. It can feel sad, and overwhelming. There are lots of ways to think about this place, like being “up the creek without a paddle.”
This idea is also the premise for the Canadian hit comedy Schitt’s Creek. The show takes it to the extreme: the Roses, an ultrawealthy family, suddenly lose everything when the government discovers their business manager has run off with all the money. It’s all gone—their business, their home, everything. And they must make do with their one remaining asset: “The kids,” the self-involved mother Moira says, referring to their adult offspring.
“The children are dependents, Moira,” their lawyer corrects her. The government allows them to retain Schitt’s Creek: a small, rural town they once purchased as a joke.
Hilarity ensues as the pampered adult children and their out-of-touch parents must face the shock of their change in status, the loss of their network and friends, a crumbling reputation… and a pressing need to learn to do things for themselves!
No one we know in real life has faced anything quite like this, but being able to laugh at and with the Rose family can help us shore up our own inner assets. When it seems like things couldn’t possibly get any worse, we may have an opportunity: things can only get better!
So whether you’re starting your investment journey or starting over in some way, any day is a great day to begin. We can give ourselves a new Day 1 at any time.
The Roses eventually saw things this way. Each family member gradually took new risks and learned new things. Both children find themselves jobs and then start new businesses; the father finds partners to start a local franchise. After a few stutter-steps, even Moira manages to relaunch her acting career.
And, wouldn’t you know it, the children even learn to ride a bike for the first time.
In the end, each becomes more self-reliant. They find ways to take their experiences and talents and transform them into something they can offer others. Can you think back to a time when you had to learn to do something different for yourself? Or when you had to change or rebuild a habit?
Each of us has done it, over and over again, throughout our lives. It happens in our school days, at each new job, with each change in our families and households. If you’ve done it before, you can do it again.
And, honestly, if the Rose family can do it… anyone can. We’re ready to help you begin (or begin again), anytime.
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In Roman mythology, Janus was the deity of beginnings, endings, and transitions. He was all about passageways and traveling. I’m thinking about him as I reflect on where 228 Main has been—and where it’s headed.
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Each one of us remembers some new beginning. Perhaps your first thought at seeing the phrase might be of a first day of school, or first kiss, first day at a new job, new relationship, life in a new neighborhood, or something else.
Beginnings are all about potential, anticipation and excitement: a journey on roads we’ve not traveled.
I often take walks in the first light of dawn. The quality of the light in that hour can be magical, whether in the village of Louisville or the banks of the Platte River, along San Diego Bay or Michigan Avenue or in Pinellas County, Florida.
But the meaning of first light is more special to me than the beautiful scenes it might envelope. First light is a new day dawning, another step on a path never before taken. It is fraught with potential, anticipation, and excitement. Each day is a beginning.
This perspective may be helpful to move forward from past hard times, or to change things we would like to change. But it can also be useful as we seek to strengthen new habits or build on recent successes. Whether things are going well or poorly, a beginning is a chance to reset.
What new beginning excites you? Clients, if you would like to talk about this or anything else, please email us or call.
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