Last night, I watched Stutz on Netflix. If you’ve ever been in therapy or have considered therapy, you definitely should watch this. 

And if you’ve never considered therapy, stop being an ass and go watch this movie and realize how everyone in life needs therapy. 

WATCH STUTZ TRAILER HERE

First off, loved Stutz. Great job Jonah Hill and co. Secondly, here are three killer lessons from the movie that I can’t stop thinking about.

Envision a string of pearls, each one with a piece of shit on it. One after another, after another, after another. The string is life and the pearls are events. It’s important to know that you just have to keep moving forward. And every event will have shit on it, but that’s okay. Progress is better than perfection. Just keep moving forward. We all get shit on along the journey (aka – adding pearls on the string). That’s life. Know that everyone is dealing with it too and to just keep moving. 

The Shadow is the piece inside all of us that we’re all ashamed of. Something you wish to bury and hide. This could be anything – from your handwriting, to being ashamed of what a dork you were in middle school and high school (yes, that’s my personal shadow). 

When you bury the shadow in the back of the closet, the shadow keeps trying to find light and will self-sabotage you. It will hold you back and keep bubbling up to the service to fuck up your day. 

That’s a horrible way to live. Instead, embrace that part of your life. We all have things we’re ashamed of. Make it a part of your identity and part of your growth story. For me, I truly hate seeing anyone I knew in high school and younger. I’m always embarrassed or ashamed. I can’t keep hiding from that though. I need to embrace who I once was and celebrate the path to where I am now. 

Embrace your shadow. 

This one… this one fucked me up. If you suffer from depression (it’s okay, more of us do than the world talks about), this is powerful. 

Have you ever had a dark cloud over you and you just can’t get out of your own damn mind – perpetuating a cycle of sadness? 

It happens to everyone. Next time this happens, try the Grateful Flow.

Instead of being bogged down by the dark cloud in your mind, start telling yourself all of the things you’re grateful for. Things you really care about – family, surfing, kids, books, whatever it may be.

Don’t stop and don’t just keep repeating the same three things. Keep thinking of more and more things. Eventually, the gratitude flow will break through the dark cloud and let the sun shine back into your life.

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Hope you take these lessons and work on yourself in 2023. I know I sure as hell am. 

- AJM

p/alexmedick · @ajmedick

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