Go the Distance

When people ask me to name my favorite film, they’re often caught off guard by my answer – Rocky.  I get it.  I don't look like the type of woman who would like something like Rocky.  It's not a romance drama/comedy or action film filled with hot guys.  It just doesn't seem to go with my outward appearance--hair, makeup, and nails done.  Unless you know me.  Then you get it.  For those who don't I'll explain why Rocky is my favorite film.  

At its core, past the grit and blood and sweat, it’s a story about a man going on a journey not to reach a goal set by others but by himself.  Rocky is seen as a loser, a thug, someone who was too lazy to reach his potential.  Prior to becoming his manger/trainer, Mickey says as much to him.  Frustrated and angry Rocky sets out to prove others and himself wrong.  When others tell him he isn’t going to win and he’s wasting his time, he tells them he doesn’t care.  Because, Rocky doesn’t agree to fight Creed in order to win the championship.  Rocky decides to fight to prove to himself that he can go the distance with something. He says, “just once I’d like to go the distance on something.”  And he does and it makes him a better man.

 

 Ultimately, Rocky loses the fight but he meets his goal.  We watch as he trains his mind, body, and spirit to meet his personal goal --punching meat, chasing chickens, and running.  

 

As the music swells during his long solitary run we understand what he's gained.  And we know no matter what happens he's already won.  

So at the end, exhausted, bloody, and beaten to a pulp, he celebrates his personal victory, calling for Adrian to tell her he loves her.  

Too many movies now focus on the hero winning the fight.  And while winning is important what’s more important is what is learned on the journey to the win.  Even when we lose, we take the knowledge we’ve gained from failure and use it to win the next time.  Life is not always about winning more often it's about the losing and what we learn from that loss that helps us to grown, change, and win our next challenge. 

Rocky is a movie about the journey not the destination.

And that’s why it’s one of my favorites.