I’m assuming if you read the header of this post, you’re probably thinking about your friend who went to the Star Wars convention, or spent the last of their savings on the perfect Chewbacca outfit for the said convention. You can stop braiding your hair in Princess Leia braids (though they do look super cute on you) because being a Jedi has nothing to do with how you look, or how bright your lightsaber is (unless we’re talking in the metaphorical sense).Although I wouldn’t call myself a huge Star Wars fan, I did see STAR WARS: The Force Awakens this weekend and it really got me thinking about the (perhaps, unintentional) deeper meaning of the film.

(SPOILER ALERT: Everybody dies)

kidding.

*But really, if you still plan on seeing the movie, my analogies might spoil a couple of areas in the plot line for you, so you might wanna go- miss you though*

The main character of this film, Rey, played by Daisy Ridley is an orphaned girl living alone on the planet of Jakku. There is not any opportunity on the planet of Jakku to live a great life, and she has all the tools she needs to move on to a better place, but she stays because she is caught up in a memory. Living there, she is forced to spend her days scrounging the desert, picking apart scraps from old vehicles that she finds, that she trades to the local scrap collector/scammer that pays her with the smallest portions of food- barely enough for her to live. Kind of how a lot of us feel working our BUTTS off for a company where we know we’re underpaid, and underutilizing many of our skills.

Later in the film, Rey gets herself into a situation where she is captured and time is ticking right down to the wire; her life (and a planet) are in peril. But by calling upon a force within her, that she never knew existed before, she is able to wriggle herself out of the situation and be reunited with her team.

She didn’t know that the force lived within her, and by staying on the planet of Jakku, a place that she knew in her heart she was TOO good for, she resisted a life where she could fulfill her calling.

How Many Of You Have The Force Within You?

Haha, did I just take this metaphor too far? But seriously, how many of you know that you have a force within you that can make you happy, and help others, but you’re busy kicking junk-metal on Jakku?

Did you go to school for English, LOVE writing, but you find yourself serving tables at a pub you hate?

Do you connect with people really well and LOVE planning events? But instead of planning events, you’re working in a stodgy cubicle job that you HATE?

If so, you’re not using your force.

There was a point in the movie that a bad-guy Darth Vader looking dude was going head-to-head with Rey. Even HE knew that she had the force within her. He said, “You need a teacher, I can show you how to use the force”.  She declined, but this is the perfect example of how if you don’t use your force in the way that serves you, then the wrong people (a controlling manager, a lack-luster company) can identify the amazing skills that you have, only to hone them in a way that doesn’t contribute to your needs, your happiness, and leads to the despair of the “Resistance Fighters“.

Like Rey, you need to identify your Force. Everyone in this world was created with unique skills, and a special story, that can help others, it’s just a matter of discovering exactly what it is and setting a plan to help you accomplish it.

Once you’ve figured out what your FORCE is: Find a mentor, get relevant experience in the space you dream of cultivating your craft in, and make sure that you create an action plan to get there.

and remember…..May The Force Be With You.

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