I will do my best to not write an essay because wow. Just wow.

This week we were instructed to watch one of several movies and be on the lookout for Definite Major Purpose (DMP) + Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) + Plan of Action (POA) + MasterMind Alliances (MMA). I am writing about the movie “Wild”—a movie based on the memoir of Cheryl Strayed, a woman in emotional anguish on a journey of self-discovery.

I choose not to delve into each component. The pithy “answers’ are as follows:

DMP—walk herself back to the woman her mother thought she was.
PMA—she didn’t have one. (she developed one)
POA—walk over 1000 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail…alone.
MMAs—her ex-husband, Greg, Amazing Ed, several other hikers she meets along and throughout her hike—and her best one…continue reading…

First, I must write about her backpack. A literal and metaphorical weight on her shoulders. I see the backpack as a representation of our subconscious mind. Cheryl had no freaking clue what she was doing. Didn’t plan well, didn’t train, didn’t prep. She just bought backpacking gear and loaded it into the backpack…loaded incorrectly and severely overloaded it to top it off. Aptly named “Monster”. Gee…the monster on our back…sound familiar? All this sounds familiar regarding out subconscious. All our lives, we had no clue. Loaded and overloaded with little or no guidance, planning, prep or training. (But we MKEers now have an advantage!)

Back to Cheryl…a woman with a DMP and a POA but sorely ill prepared. How about a PMA and MMAs?

PMA? Nope. Not till she kept succeeding. How did she succeed without a positive mental attitude?

Grit. One step at a time. One foot in front of the other. Each big f-ing boulder passed. Each mile. Each time she didn’t quit. Hearing word that another prepared, trained hiker had quit and she was still there. Learning she is something she didn’t think she was. That came from her epic MMA, Amazing Ed. He told her he was in awe of the hikers. She told him she was no hiker. He corrected her and pointed out that she just hiked 100 miles through the Mojave. And that wasn’t all he did.

He goes through her backpack with her, item by item, letting her determine if she really needs it. She easily and quickly gives up many things she’s learned she doesn’t need. Ed suggests, but she is the one who makes the decisions and lightens her load. She resisted one suggestion…burning portions of books as she reads them. She’s appalled at becoming a “book burner”. But, in time, she lets that go too. Continuing to lighten her load bit by bit. Someone gave her that idea. She just had to implement it. MKE much?

And do you know who her BEST Mastermind Alliance is?

Herself.

For most of her journey, she was her only company. Her only mastermind.

She did mastermind with her mother—in thought only.

It was her own mind that Cheryl delved into. That’s where we need to go—the world within.

Makes one think we don’t need external MMAs. Nay, nay. Cheryl would never have completed her journey without support, guidance and encouragement. She had several external MMAs on her hike—some long term, others were new and only for a brief period of time. Yet that period of time—each MMA—was instrumental in her success.

With a DMP, POA, MMAs and grit Cheryl developed her Positive Mental Attitude. She hiked at her own pace, not letting her pace compared to others stop her from continuing.

She changed from scowling at (loathing?) the trail markers to the tradition of slapping them as she passed (with a smile).

Gives hope to those of us falling off the Mental Diet a lot. And reason to persist through any scowls at yet another read, sit, repetition etc.

If we just keep doing, if we persist, we succeed. It will happen. Just don’t quit.