happy sunday! go cowboys! this is an oldie but a goodie. and my intentions below have stayed the same and my action has improved.
FLASHBACK POST:
ROF + i are all into watching breaking bad (we’re slow to catch on) and although i think the show jumped the shark a little recently, it’s excellent.
it’s one of several shows out there that gives you a multi-layered look inside people. a character that has pretty good + decent intentions but has made a decision to take bad actions. for a tv show – meaning purely for entertainment purposes – i’ve discovered i like this. watching these kind of shows, to me, with their multi-dimensional lead was way better than any of the stupid :30 minute sitcoms out there <insert laugh track here.>
take mr. walter white from breaking bad. if you haven’t seen the show, i’m not going to ruin anything for you here. but let’s do a little character assessment, shall we ?
intention: dying of cancer with little time to live, he has crappy insurance and little savings his intention is to leave his family with plenty of money to for college + living for long after he’s gone
action: he becomes the best crystal meth cook around and a drug dealer in the process
we’re only on season 3, so we don’t know if his actions ever catch up with his intentions. and don’t ruin it for us. at first, i thought GO FOR IT, WALT. he’s dying, he wants to provide for his disabled son, his newborn daughter and his wife, right? honorable? yes. however, the lies he tells and the person he becomes start to overpower his intentions. i was all GO FOR IT at the start, but am now thinking that his actions have been way more hurtful than his intentions were decent.
do you have good intentions with something but take bad action?
let’s look at another character, i was personally obsessed with for at least the first 4 seasons:
dexter, from dexter. holy moly was this an outstanding show. i absolutely hated myself for loving him so much.
i know that he has a bit of a troubled past. ok, a real messed up past but:
intention: rid the miami streets of terrible criminals who perform horrific crimes yet get away when the legal system fails.
action: yo, he kills them! eye for an eye. oh, and he works for the police.
this was a doozy of a dichotomy between good + evil.
was intention winning over action? who cares what you do as long as…. you meant well.
we’ll check more into that soon. one more example.
possibly my first experience with this intention vs. action deal on tv: tony soprano.
intention: to get better. the mob boss that saw a shrink.
action: did bad mob stuff that hurt his family and his health constantly
while tony’s intention isn’t as clear cut as walter or dex’s – but it was enough to add wonderful depth to the character. and make you pull for him even though he was a bad guy.
so what is the conflict in your life? real life, i’m talking about now.
i’ll go first. remember, we’re not aiming for an emmy here like the above shows.
intention: to build close, meaningful friendships that are maintained…forever.
action: i don’t make it a priority to stay in touch.
honesty hurts! i hated writing that down. stinks. but step 1 is taking ownership of our actions, right? at least isn’t that what tony soprano learned?
