Today is February 27 and the Navigate the Chaos question to consider is “Do you view your life as the train or the station?”
All too often people view their life as the train station where life is static.
But that is just one way of looking at life.
Perhaps a more interesting way is to view life as the train itself.
Best-selling Brazilian author Paulo Coelho observed “Our life is a constant journey, from birth to death. The landscape changes, the people change, our needs change, but the train keeps moving. Life is the train, not the station.”
Amy Adams knows a thing or two about how the train keeps moving. She has been nominated for an Oscar five times, four of them for her work as a supporting actress. Until her lead in 2016’s Arrival, the actress explained so often opted for distinctive, smaller parts that would give her a chance to grow. “I love being a supporting actress…In my experience, the lead role has the burden of plot. I’m not looking at the size of the role. I’m looking at, ‘Will I get a chance to grow?’”
In “Arrival” Adams is decidedly the lead, as linguist Louise Banks who is reluctantly drawn into a government attempt to communicate with aliens that have landed on Earth. Competent and brave, Louise is weighed down by a personal sadness that is slowly explained over the course of the film. “I felt like I knew her,” Adams said of Louise. “She was everywoman. She was me, and I don’t often see myself in my characters.”
For Adams life is the train and one way she has consistently performed at a high level, moving from supporting roles to leading lady is stop needing to be perfect. “I’m a harsh critic of myself,” Adams said. “I see when I stopped needing to be perfect. I stopped carrying the weight of criticism. I really was so tired of giving a [expletive] cause I just gave so many all the time.”
As you go about your day, consider asking yourself do you view your life as the train or the station?