Welcome π My name is Brock, I'm 26, and an Associate Director/Senior Manager at a Big 4 consulting firm in Australia. This is my little corner of the internet where I share what I'm thinking and reading. You can check out my recent posts to get a taste of what to expect.
How the Lion King taught me to stay strong in stressful periods
Published 3 days agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
Hey friend! π
Sometimes, work can become a bit much. Concurrent projects, unrealistic demands, whatever the cause, we've all felt it (or will feel it). This week, let's talk about staying strong during stressful periods.
If your new year is already off to a rocky start and you're feeling the stress, this one's for you.
If you haven't watched Mufasa yet, this is your π¨π¨spoiler alertπ¨π¨ (you've been warned).
Mufasa is a prequel to the Lion King, detailing the story of Simba's father, Mufasa.
Not probably the content you were expecting when you subscribed to this newsletter, but stick with me here and you'll understand why I felt the need to write this.
Mufasa starts the story as a lion cub who has been separated from his parents by a great flood - fighting for survival in the wilderness before he is found by another lion pride whom he grows up with.
Enter the Outsiders - a rival pride of lions with an evil leader named Kiros who wants to become the lion king by wiping out the other prides. Mufasa manages to escape with his brother, Taka, but they're now being pursued by the Outsiders.
Now, Mufasa and Taka technically aren't brothers since Mufasa was adopted, but they do break into song and declare each other as brothers, so for the sake of simplicity let's say they're brothers.
When he was a child, Mufasa's mother always told him of an animal paradise called Milele, and so the quest begins to find this land and to survive the Outsiders.
With the Outsiders hot on his tail, Mufasa is pushed to the edge of his capabilities and strength to keep pursuing Milele while keeping the rival pride at bay.
Kiros, the King of the Outsiders
On top of that, he has to deal with an unexpected betrayal at the hands of his brother Taka (aka Scar), who teams up with the Outsiders to help them take down Mufasa.
It's the equivalent of when you're already up against a significant challenge, and then something else unexpectedly happens to just pile on top of it and make your life even harder. ππ€¦ββοΈ
With the pressure mounting, Mufasa becomes squeamish about the road that lay ahead.
He's not yet the strong and powerful Lion King that we came to learn about in the original Lion King movie - he's anxious about the future and his ability to overcome it.
Enter the wise old mandrill, Rafiki, with some sage counsel:
"We are nearing destiny, Mufasa.
β
And so, the earth must shake."
Rafiki, the wise old mandrill
Rafiki, being the wise old head that he is, drops many short doses of wisdom throughout the film, but when he dropped this fire it immediately resonated with me (I had to write it down in the notes app on my phone after the movie to make sure I didn't forget it). π₯π₯
"We are nearing destiny, Mufasa. And so, the earth must shake."
It's always darkest right before the dawn.
Following this, Mufasa finds the elusive land of Milele, but it's not time to celebrate yet as he then has to contend with the most significant challenge - a final showdown with the Outsiders.
Mufasa rallies the other animals of Milele to join him in his cause to defeat the Outsiders, and the animals bravely support him and join the fight.
The Outsiders are outnumbered and ultimately defeated. Mufasa has made it through the challenges and is now out on the other side - he is rewarded by being reunited with his long-lost mother and by being made King of the Pride Lands. ππ¦
It was as Rafiki said - Mufasa was nearing his destiny, and so the earth must shake.
When you're on the verge of something significant, the challenges will come.
But when you come out the other side, the rewards can be significant. π
I've had my own moments in my career so far where it felt like the earth was shaking. On one occasion I just about had a meltdown and threw in the towel.
But it's precisely that occasion which gave me so much once I came out the other side of it.
And as I look down the barrel of a 2025 which, I think, is going to be filled with many quakes of the earth for me, I'm reminding myself that perhaps I'm nearing my destiny.
Or, on a less dramatic note, I'm at least going to get a lot out of it once I come out of the other side.
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Welcome π My name is Brock, I'm 26, and an Associate Director/Senior Manager at a Big 4 consulting firm in Australia. This is my little corner of the internet where I share what I'm thinking and reading. You can check out my recent posts to get a taste of what to expect.
