What I learned from Will Ferrel

Almost everyone likes to watch movies. It's great entertainment with a minimal amount of effort. Just sit down, relax and enjoy the ride of the story. I think one of the main reasons I like movies is because stories are so relatable. For one or two hours you step in the life of someone else and share the life experience of that person. Good fun, and sometimes even inspiring!

I <3 MOVIES!

I like all kinds of movies and a lot of actors. One of the actors I really like is Will Ferrel.
I know, I know, he isn't a Matthew McConaughey, an Anthony Hopkins or a Daniel Day-Lewis, but he has something that is very unique. And yes, most of the times this uniqueness shows itself in really absurd characters in stories with no depth whatsoever. But hey, they have great entertainment value and make me laugh till my stomach hurts.

This one movie...

A few years ago I saw this one movie that really caught me by surprise. This movie was funny and nice to watch, but not as absurd as other Will Ferrell movies. The thing that really surprised me is that it really taught me some life lessons that still stick to me today. This movie is called "Stranger Than Fiction".

A little warning before hand:
SPOILERS AHEAD!


Stranger Than Fiction is the story of Harrold Crick, an IRS auditor. Not the most interesting or lovable profession. When you first meet Harrold you might think of him as the most boring person you could ever imagine. Every day he does the same. He gets out of bed, when brushing his teeth he counts the brush strokes, goes outside and goes to work. Every-single-day... He is trying to have control on his life in the littlest of details and does everything at the same time as the day before. But soon I discovered he is also the kindest person you could imagine, a hard worker and maybe a little bit naive in a childlike way.

It gets weird...

The movie starts of with this voice-over introducing you to Harrold as a character in this story. Nothing out of the ordinary from any other movie you'd think. There's tons of movies with a narrating voice, the story teller. The voice introduces you to Harrold's life and tells us parts of the story the characters don't know. The moment when this story becomes strange is when it turns out that we are not the only one hearing the voice of the story teller. Harrold does too.

Someone is narrating everything he does, what he thinks and even what is going to happen in the future. Someone is telling the story of HIS life.

Well, after a lot of confusion from Harrolds side he decides to go and investigate what is going on.
He goes to a university to talk to a professor in literature. Together with this professor he decides to try to find out what kind of story he is in. After going through about the whole history of literature only two genres remain...
He could either be in a Comedy or... a Drama. This means HIS story will either have a happy end or, you guessed it... a horrible ending.

Please be a happy ending...

Of Course, as in every crisis Harold's life changes a lot in a short period of time. He changes from this insecure boring uninspiring person to someone who does what he always wanted to do. And of course, he finds love...

The longer I watched this movie the more I wanted him to be in a comedy. I wanted him to have this happy life so bad.
But the longer I watched this movie the more I started to realise the storyteller wasn't writing a comedy, she was writing a drama...

The big question...

I think the big question for Harrold at this moment in the movie is:

Are you going to accept the story someone else is telling about your life?
Are you going to accept the outcome and let this life just happen to you?
Or are YOU going to decide what kind of story you're in and decide on the outcome?

My own voices

When I compare this to my own life, I often see myself in a similar position. Sometimes it feels like other people are trying to tell my story. Voices from people in the past still ringing in my head saying who I am, what I can and cannot do and how I should feel about myself. People around me who feel the need to share their opinions on my dreams and plans for my life, the way I dress or look, or the way I raise my children.

There are so many voices trying to tell our stories. Trying to direct us to a certain path and keeping us from the story we truly long to be in.

Freedom in the fight

I find it funny that when we decide to fight these voices it seems that our life turns into a crisis. It feels uncomfortable. But I discovered that, just as in Harold's story, in this crisis we find the freedom to shape our life, to find our true selves and even to find love. It is here we find the strength to direct our own story.

The big lesson for me

So, what I learned from Will Ferrel? Well maybe this lesson was there with him all along. In all his goofy, absurd characters. In his uniqueness, in alle his media performances. But through the story of Harold Crick it spoke clear to my heart on a different level, a much deeper level:

"Direct your life, it's your story."

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I started to share my thoughts and stories on Steemit because I have a deep passion to inspire people and make them think. I've always found inspiration in stories of other people's experiences and I love to share my own experiences on what I discover in my life. I hope some people might find some inspiration in thema and will help them to go further in life.

If you liked this story please consider upvoting and following me. It would really help me to build a community of like minded people that motivate each other. Also I really love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

I wish you well!

Love,

Koen Folkerts