Movies are not just for entertainment. There are many scenes in movies that can explain real-life concepts.

Here is one of my favorite motivational scenes for many reasons, from the 2006 sports drama movie “Facing the Giants” :

a. Many-a-times we underestimate our own capabilities. We set targets that do not do justice to our true potential. By blindfolding the athlete, the coach prevented the athlete to give up at a subpar target and give his best

b. Usually people around you tend to laugh or try to pull you down when you are about to start a task. Had the athlete focussed on their taunts and laughs, he would have never been able to deliver his best. It is sometimes better to cut the noise around us and just focus on the task at hand. This is what is usually called “Being in the Zone” – where an athlete cuts all the noise around him/her and is so focussed on the task at hand.

c. The role of the 2nd athlete on the back – you will always find someone willing to go that extra mile with you. Though that athlete had nothing much to gain from this exercise, his ability to balance and hold on helped the 1st athlete give his best

d. And, finally, the role of the coach – Without the motivation and input from the coach, the athlete would have thrown in the towel at the first urge to quit. The fact that the coach kept pushing him was the reason he ended up beating his own expectation by a mile

Never underestimate your potential and always look out for people who are willing to help you extract your true potential. Life is not as bad as people made it sound 🙂