I remember thinking no movie would every be as awesome as Star Wars: A New Hope. Alien creatures, futuristic costuming, action, romance, adventure…it had it all.
And then I watched The Empire Strikes Back.
AT-AT walkers and a Tauntaun sleeping bag on Hoth, Luke training with Yoda on Dagobah, and Han Solo frozen in carbonate! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! It had everything I loved about the first Star Wars movie…only it was even better! The same thing happened when I saw Superman 2 and Karate Kid 2. The sequels magically managed to transcend the originals. From that moment on, any time I saw a movie I loved, I crossed my fingers that there would be a sequel. That is, until I watched Speed 2…and Weekend at Bernies 2.
After Teen Wolf Too, I officially stopped wishing for sequels. In fact, I started wanting “The End” to be a binding contract. Please just leave it alone, I would beg the scrolling credits. If a movie was awesome, I wanted to walk away from it, regardless of how loose the ends or how badly I wanted to follow the characters into the next chapter of their story. I was afraid to screw it up.
So, here we are in the opening scene of 2020: the sequel. Part of me knows this next 6 months has the potential to be a blockbuster. But, another part of me is so afraid the rest of this year will be lackluster.
How can I help my June through December look more like Return of the Jedi and less like Dumb and Dumberer?
Sequels that crash and burn usually have a few things in common, which I think can be applied to our keto journey.
- They rush the script. Some studios treat a blockbuster movie like striking oil in their backyard: they install the biggest sucker they can find as fast as possible and try to pump it for all its worth! But, character development takes time. You may feel like you had fast success with keto “to start with,” and now you’re experiencing a slow-moving stall. The truth is, if you add up all the time, energy, hurt and frustration that led you to start keto in the first place, (and tack on those moments to what you consider the “first part” of your keto journey), you’ll see that story actually took a lifetime to write. As you continue on keto, don’t pressure yourself to pump out record-breaking weight loss week after week. Take time to repair your relationship with food and discover what got you here in the first place. Don’t neglect the dialogue.
- They don’t make adjustments based on the season. Just because you had a holiday season hit doesn’t mean you’ll have a blockbuster summer sequel. They are a very different audience. Certainly what worked pre-quarantine may not work post-quarantine. Make adjustments accordingly if you want to see future success.
- They underestimate their audience. For a while, Disney was churning out a sequel to every one of their animated classics. There was Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, and The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea. I love Disney, but these movies were not vault-worthy. With low-budget animation, “close-enough” voice actors and commercial jingle-like musical numbers, it quickly became evident these sequels were geared toward preschoolers craving an abundance of content, not life-long Disney fans searching for a movie of quality. As the keto space continues to expand, you’ll never be at a loss for content. But watch out for keto rabbit holes of information, which take up your time but provide no new insight or perspective for your health goals.
- They put their money in the wrong place. Poor George Clooney. I’ll never forget watching Batman and Robin and wondering why they put such giant nipples on his Batman costume. They weren’t necessary or helpful. They should have just kept it simple. It’s the same for your keto meal plans. Continue to keep it simple. There are so many new keto products entering the marketplace, but do you need them? Are they going to help your keto journey or be like nipples on a Batman costume: just a distraction?
As we rapidly approach July and scene two of our year’s sequel, I am optimistic our Keto journey is going to be like Heath Ledger’s Joker performance in The Dark Knight: previously underestimated and now critically acclaimed!
