Let Movies Solve All Your Problems

May 12, 2017

Have you ever been completely stuck?

Have you ever puzzled and puzzled till your puzzler was sore, and still you couldn’t find the answer?

Do you know how to fix that?

Watch a movie.

The truth is: no amount of willpower can force a solution to come out. Our conscious mind can only take us so far. Our true power is always hiding underneath, buried deep in our subconscious power supply.

Our subconscious mind can do almost anything. It can solve crises, formulate plans, and create visions of championships that our bodies then dutifully carry out. Our subconscious mind is amazing.

But that doesn’t help us when we’re beating our heads against refrigerators because we can’t figure out that project that’s been torturing us all day. And, oh, by the way, it’s due tomorrow.

So what do we do when we’re at the end of our rope?

You already know.

Ever heard of the Eureka Phenomenon? It’s an essay written by Isaac Asimov, and in it he describes his solution to being totally stymied. When his brain was on overload and there wasn’t any light at the end of the tunnel, he simply gave up.

He realized that it’s only when we relax that we unleash our problem-solving super-powers. So what did he do to unleash those powers?

He went to the movies.

Movies allowed him to relax. Movies allowed his subconscious to figure out all the things his exhausted mind couldn’t. If he had a problem, by the end of a movie his problem was solved.

It never failed.

Try it out. See what you think. It worked for him and it’s worked for countless other people.

The answer to your problems is only a movie away.

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Eureka Movie Suggestions (That You May Not Be Familiar With)

1. Edge of Tomorrow (Live. Die. Repeat). For whatever reason, this movie slips under most people’s radar. It’s fun, fast-moving, and thought-provoking. Way underrated.

2. Open Range. I’m not the biggest Western fan, but this one is excellent. It’s Robert Duvall at his Robert Duvall-iest, and it’s my favorite Kevin Costner performance. And the scenery is gorgeous. It’s better than the often-celebrated Unforgiven, although Unforgiven is good, too.

3. Aliens. It’s the best sequel, by far, in movie history. But it came out in 1986, so you may have missed it (tragedy). It has non-stop, gripping action and pretty much any 40 year old still uses Bill Paxton quotes at least once a month. Game over, man, game over!

My book is called The Inevitability of Becoming Rich, and you can find that here.