There is a scene in the movie Jurassic World where a pack of Velociraptors attack a much larger and genetically modified dinosaur called the Indominus Rex.
In this great scene, the raptors leap onto, claw at, and bite the Indominus Rex, despite being repeatedly thrown off onto their backs.
And because my mind is always at least partially thinking about my business, I was immediately struck by what a great metaphor it was. Whether it’s being an entrepreneur or managing a 300-person staff, there are a lot of tasks in your day-to-day that can feel like trying to take down an Indominus Rex.
Maybe they are tasks everybody knows about, like pitching and landing a big client. Maybe they are private things, like figuring out how to hire freelancers to supplement your skill set, or just making it through the year with a positive cash flow.
Either way, these experiences can be so overwhelming and scary that you have no reference point and no history that tells you how to move forward.
And if you think about those things too much, as I tend to do, it can drive you crazy. It’s easy to start doubting, reevaluating, and perseverating over something you need to do without taking any action. This is the exact opposite of what raptors do.
Jurassic World would have been a much different movie if halfway through this dinosaur fight, one of the raptors got up after landing on his head and said: “Guys! Guys! What are we doing here? I mean, is this worth it? Maybe we should just forget this guy and go eat some children.”
That’s ridiculous. Not just because raptors can’t talk, but also because raptors don’t run away. They attack until the job is done.
Raptors aren’t running around with ridiculous stats in their head regarding which strategy works best for dinosaur attack, or the top five things the most dangerous dinosaurs do before breakfast.
No. They are thinking about one thing and one thing only.
Now, I will say if you operated that way all the time just because R\raptors did, that would be a horrible way to live your life. Also, I’m almost positive being in business is a lot different than being a dinosaur—there is so much planning, contemplation, and strategy that goes into operating a business. But sometimes, all of that does more to hold you back than move you forward.
And during those times that are the scariest, that seem most overwhelming and loom so large that the only way out of your current situation is through it, it can help to let go of overthinking.
Look at those difficult tasks as ones that must be completed no matter how many times you get chucked off and land on your head. If it’s something you care very much about, you will go after it, over and over until the job is done.