Today’s post is about how to forget the fears that you are facing in life and move on and become the man that you want to be. We too often live lives of comfort and in the easy lane as we allow our fears to hold us back from trying to pursue the lives we truly want. However, life doesn’t need to be like that and you can fight your fears. How are we going to do that? Watch ‘Batman Begins’. Yep, you heard that right! Let’s get to it!

SO WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT

The Film: ‘Batman Begins’

The Character: Bruce Wayne/Batman

Played By: Christian Bale

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Why is he a good character to look at: Batman is a brilliant character to look at as he is someone who has encountered a seriously evil event in his life which shapes his behaviour in the film. At the start, he is burning with anger, regret and fear. He wants to punish the man responsible for his parent’s death but feels too afraid to do it. He realises that it would have been to resolve his personal pain rather than for justice. As the film progresses, he learns not only how to make peace with his fears but he actually uses them to fight back against those who seek to wrong others. He uses the fears to make himself into a symbol and is a great example of how someone could go completely off the rails after a bad event in their live but instead of living with the fears and anger, channels it externally and helps others. What is stopping you from becoming like Batman and becoming a symbol of a better life? Nothing, read on!

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU WATCH OUT FOR & SO HOW CAN YOU BE LIKE HIM

• At the start of the film, we see the horrible event that completely destroys Bruce’s life, when his parent’s are murdered in front of him, yet as the film progresses, he does not let his past completely destroy his life. Yes, he does remain terrified of the bats for a long time. Yes, he does hide from his past by running away. His parent’s murder could have destroyed him but he allows it to motivate himself to begin a mission in his life. As the movie progresses, he learns how to channel the rage and fear he feels inside and uses it to make his life a purpose ‘to become more than man, an ideal … a legend.’ Bruce learns how to take the fear and anger he has inside himself and instead of allowing it to beat himself up, to use it as a fuel to change his life, become the man he wants to be and become the hero of the film. Yes, you are not in a blockbuster movie but what is stopping you from becoming the hero of your own movie?

• When Bruce meets the League of Shadows, you can see how he hungers to learn. They have sparked a flicker of hope in Bruce. Instead of allowing his demons and fears eat him up over his parent’s murder and instead sees how he could use the rage as a source to fight back against crime. However, you notice how Bruce only argues at the start of the training. He only answers back or questions at the start of the training. Bruce Wayne quickly realised that he must empty his mind, absorb all the teachings, focus solely on his goal in life and work hard to achieve it. To learn you need to forget what you think you know. You cannot add much water of knowledge to a cup that is three quarters full but you can fill up a empty cup with all the water you have to give. Bruce Wayne allows himself to become an open vessel and learn from those who are willing to teach him, to show him how to develop, to reach that next level. So when you try and learn, leave the ego at the door, empty the cup and be ready to be filled up as you learn how to end your fears. 

• Bruce Wayne goes on a journey to learn about himself and his true mission in life. The scene where he climbs the mountain is symbolic of him fighting on to reach that new level, fighting through the challenges where the majority of people would turn back, to reach the temple of knowledge that comes when you climb out of normality and reach for that next level in your development and life. To show the path that Bruce Wayne went on, in the film he actually has to go on a journey, to show his development as a character. Sadly, you won’t have a crew falling you around. However, you need to pick a goal and work towards it everyday. Bruce Wayne had a goal to avenge his parents by stopping crime. You need a goal that is like that and it propels you out of bed everyday and ready to get to work to meet that goal. Noone else will set the goal for you. People will try to keep you at their level and to exploit you or hold you back. You need to pick your goal and work your ass off to achieve it. Read and learn about your fears. Bruce Wayne actually becomes a criminal in the movie and realises that the victim and the criminal aren’t actually that different, that they both feel fear. You need to learn about your fears, learn about where they stem from in your life, pick your target to stop and go at it hell for leather!

• Throughout the film, Bruce Wayne learns to master his own fears and use them to his own advantage. Too many of us run away from what we fear and live a life where we can hide from the things that frighten us. Look at the scene where the adult Bruce Wayne encounters the bats again in his (soon to be Bat)cave, instead of running like he did as a child, he realises that his fear cannot hurt him but that he can instead use it. Wayne embraces the fear from the bats realising that he can make others fear it. However, this is not a good thing for you to do. You should look to eliminate your current fears and take your life to the next level, rather than making others fear something. Bruce Wayne starts the film in a jail. We all live our lives in our own jail cell. We allow our fears to hold us prisoners and live controlled and restrictive lives. Are you going to leave your jail cell like Wayne does or will you allow your fear warden to hold you captive? It’s your choice. No one will come and save you. No one else has the key. this is an internal struggle and you need to start a jail break. Start now. Tomorrow isn’t always guaranteed. Start working towards the life you deserve and want today. Start today, start now. 
  

• In the film, the younger Bruce Wayne is nothing like the man he eventually become. At the start of the film he is a coward and lives his life fuelled with fear and anger. Eventually he learns that he must accept the life of the man he wants to be and not fight in the mud but instead climb the mountain towards enlightenment and development. You need to stop being two different people, accept who you are meant to be. Instead of just wishing you were someone else and enduring life, select the fears you want to work to eliminate and get to it. Yes it will be hard but that is the pure joy in life. There is no better feeling then when you have felt the fear and done it anyway. Look at your past, how can you use things that you fear from your past as a helping guide to improve your life now. How can you use your present situation to become the man you truly want to become. Learn how to redirect how you see your past and use it to your advantage. Mind your surroundings , every moment is a chance to begin again, to change your future path. You can never change your past, it is written in the history books so no mental masturbation will ever change that. What you can do is turn that head from looking backwards and instead focus forward. It will be hard to begin with but that is simply your brain rewiring itself as you are teaching it a new skill. With some repetition, you will find it gets easier and easier until it become automatic. Then repeat! 

• You don’t need to travel the world to discover fear and how to beat it, all that you fear is within yourselves, you simply need to listen to that little voice inside yourself and face them, look at the source of them, break the fear down to it;s lowest component and deal with it to eliminate the fear, stop fighting it, become one with it, accept it and use the strength you get from it to move on. Learn new skills. Meditate. Do Yoga. A big part of the film shows Bruce Wayne going away and training. You don’t need to go into the highest mountains of Asia to learn like Wayne did. You simply need a library card or preferably a internet capable laptop. Look at your fears. How are they holding you back? What do you need to do to beat them? Are you scared of going to the gym but you want to be healthier? Google for local clubs in your area, find a 24 hour gym with quiet times you can go to at the start, find a programme if you fear you will waste your time and son on. When fighting your fears, you should look at it as a chance to improve yourself at the same time. 

• Find a mentor. Find a Batcave!  To help you evolve from a standard man, you need to seek allies to help you in your transformation and helping others. Tell people that you want to change, encourage them to help and go on their own journey. However, if they won’t, don’t worry, just show them the way and hope they follow your lead. Believe in your cause and others will. Pick a personal code and adhere to it. You want to find an ‘Alfred’ in your life, someone who wants to help you, someone who will always look after you, will always care about you. It can be a family member or a friend.  You should aim to have a few allies so that you can support each other, assist each other on your goal and help each other achieve the goals. Batman had a fancy, secret Batcave. However, I don’t you will ever be able to afford something as fancy as his. However, you should setup your own Batcave in your house, or even in your room if that is all you have. Do the same at your work. You want to keep it clean and tidy. You want your equipment to be maintained. You want to know where everything is so when you need it on a mission, it is to hand. Your Batcave should be kept maintained and ready for you to recoup in, to rest in with do what you need to do to achieve your goals. 

• Like they say in the film, you fall so you can learn to pick yourself up. Everything is frighten of something, no one is any different, no one is truly fearless. You just can’t let your fear beat you. You only fail when you stop trying. You can fall backwards. You can fail. You can mess up. As long as you keep trying, you will never truly fail. Batman took a lot of bumps, he suffers some failures in the film but he keeps learning and he keeps moving onwards and developing himself. If Batman can succeed even after being set on fire at one point, then you have no excuse!

• Change for the greater good, not for personal reasons only, be a leader, not a vigilante. You will alienate people, you will lose friends and attract haters but don’t let it stop you, you won’t be able to please everyone but you shouldn’t try to, you should try to make life better for yourself and others, let those who disagree with you evolve at their own pace, you can lead and encourage people to change but they will change at their own risk and to their own level. Be willing to make personal sacrifices as needed. Work hard but stay humble. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

You can go down a path and change at any moment, you’ll never eliminate all fear from your life but you can accept it, make peace with it and take your life to the next level

its not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you. You have a choice in life, a choice that presents itself everyday. You can take the easy way out and avoid fighting your fears. Down that road you will end up with a life of pain, anger, questions of what if and regret like the young Bruce Wayne had. By taking the road where you fight your fear and demons, you can get the type of life you truly wish for and become like Batman/the Bruce Wayne from later in the film. 

Which path are you going down? Every second is a chance to change and start again on the path you want to be on. Choose wisely. Choose now. You will never end all fears. As you eliminate your current fears and expand your comfort zone, other fears will take their place. This is good. This is life and the universe throwing new challenges at you as it sees a grade A life player! Just remember as you defeat each new boss baddie, defeat all new fears, you will never be the same again. Your confidence will grow. Your skillset will grow. You will become more and more like Batman and that’s a next level goal right there!

Let me know what you think in the comments below.