Life Lessons from Creed II

I saw Creed part two last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Creed is an American drama which centers around the journey of Adonis Creed to professional boxing. Adonis Creed is a self-taught and talented boxer, and son of former heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed. Adonis is set out to create his own legacy.

Michael B. Jordan starring as Adonis Creed

Here are lessons I picked from the movie which I have decided to share with you.

1. Crazy goals require crazy actions
   After Adonis Creed lost to Drago with severe injuries the first time, it became almost impossible for him to defeat Drago ever. Creed has to fight Drago again to defend his “World Heavyweight Champion” title nonetheless.
   
   Fighting Drago the second time became a bigger goal than the first because now Creed has to defeat him, else he risks losing everything. To be able to achieve success, Creed significantly adjusts his training and fitness routine and engages in intense rehearsals.
   
   When we set goals, we are often required to put in some effort to actualize these goals. What we should note is that some goals can be bigger than others, depending on the level of impact or returns that we expect when we finally achieve that goal or the amount of difficulty we would encounter while pursuing the goal. Therefore, the same amount of effort we put in smaller goals is often not enough to achieve bigger goals. With the bigger goals, there is usually a need to deviate from “the normal”. The adjustments can be marginal or massive, again depending on how big the goal is.
2. Find answers to the “what if”s
   “What if”s are usually born out of fear. Our fear of uncertainties of the future. “What if”s paralyze our actions and when excessively entertained, they prevent us from living life to its full potential and rob us of the joys of the moment.
   
   A good way to conquer these “what if”s is to think each one all the way through. This helps us find an answer to each question and suppresses the fears one at a time. Once we have the answers, we will find out that we can deal with even the most undesirable outcomes.
   
   Creed’s career was on the line, he was still recovering from multiple injuries and the arrival of his daughter was the perfect light he needed in his darkness at the time but then an ugly “what if” reared its head. His fiancée has progressive hearing loss and they both feared the baby might be deaf. This fear almost ruined the moment of celebrating the arrival of their little one and all the joy that came with it when he needed it most!
3. Know your why
   People do things for different reasons. As soon as you nurture the idea of doing something, it is equally important to KNOW WHY.
   
   When you know why then you become intentional about the actions and preparation you put in place towards getting that thing done. Knowing why gives you a sense of direction, purpose, and responsibility. It makes it natural for you to own the outcome either positive or negative.
   
   In case of a negative outcome, knowing why informs your decision whether or not to give it another shot. In the case of a positive outcome, knowing why gives you ultimate satisfaction and fulfillment.
   
   When Creed fought Drago the second time, he knew why he had to do it. His thought was clear and he was able to push forward even when it seemed to others that he would not pull through.

Creed is a good movie. You should see Part I and II if you haven’t :)

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