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August 2008: Cine-Philosophy, Part IV
Preface: For the May through October Soapboxes, I will be presenting a six-part series on “Movie Quotes as Life Philosophy.” In my family, quoting movies is as natural as breathing. So, I thought I would make use of this habit and wax poetic on some of my favorites.
“Inconceivable!”
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
I freely admit that “The Princess Bride” is one of my favorite movies of all time. No other movie, in my opinion, has so many quotable lines. Add that to a cast that includes Shawn Wallace, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Andre the Giant. . . well, it just doesn’t get any better than that.
In one of my favorite scenes, The Man in Black is chasing down Vizzini, Inigo, Fezzik, and Buttercup. But Vizzini is so convinced of his own superiority that he cannot imagine anyone could be foiling his plans to kidnap the Princess. To him, this scenario is utterly and in all other ways inconceivable.
Now, maybe it’s the English major in me, but I’ve always been fascinated by the connection between between language and one’s perceptions. What makes one person say that a situation is “horrible” and another say that it is "a challenge?” Have you ever heard two people describe the same event, and wonder if either of them were actually there? One’s perception is one’s reality, and that reality is revealed in his word choices.
In sports psychology and training, this concept can be very important to your success or failure in reaching your goals. For instance, we generally accept that a positive attitude can make all the difference in healing and wellness, right? Our word choices, then, are extremely important in setting that positive tone. If you carry on about how your hamstring is “killing me,” then you are using catastrophic language that is anything but positive.
It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg thing, I guess. Do you use the catastrophic language, which then sets up a negative frame of mind? Or is the language merely a reflection of the already-negative state? Many experts claim it is the former. And they further say that you can fake it till you make it. In other words, by using the right words, you actually can change your mindset. Hmmm. . . so maybe Vizzini was on to something?
Consider the impact of positive language on your training and fitness. Instead of saying that you stink or that you are a terrible runner, use a different approach. Change your mindset and your attitude and see if you don’t notice an improvement in your workouts and your enjoyment of them. Instead of saying how tragic or devastating your injury is, reframe it as an opportunity to assess your fitness level and your training methods and see where you can improve the balance and quality of your program.
Remember that your perception is indeed your reality, and as inconceivable as it might sound, you are in charge of your perception!
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