Look Back to Move Forward ⏪

Christopher Nolan’s Batman series chronicles the hero’s journey of Bruce Wayne, from orphan to superhero and everything in between.

If you haven’t seen the movie series, it’s a must watch, rich with story, one-liners (why so serious?!), and character development.

We witness Bruce Wayne as a child endure the weight of family legacy only to later grapple with his youth through crime leading him to a combat mentor and ultimately a launch as Gotham’s protector.

Whew. Batman in a nutshell (kind of).

However, throughout Wayne’s story, it’s important to note a thread of justice seen in his family of origin, childhood, mentor training, and launch as Batman that made him the hero we know him as.

A similar process can be applied to the young professional in life and work as well:

• Family of Origin — your genetic family

• Childhood — your upbringing

• Mentors — wise counsel

• Launch — new seasons

Skillsets often pass from one generation to the next. Studying your genetic family can be a gold mine of discovery.

Like Wayne’s family who historically pursued justice, think back multiple generations of your family and take note of:

• What were they skilled at? What were areas of growth?

• How did their skills and growth areas apply to their life and work?

• What skills and growth areas carried through to you? What did not?

Notice common threads between your family and who you are today.

As kids, we gravitate to people, places, and activities without knowing it. I fell in love with basketball at a young age. I loved the camaraderie, competitiveness, and opportunities for growth. Growing up, I knew others who gravitated to the arts. They were compelled by creativity, beauty, storytelling, and teamwork.

Childhood is scattered with nuggets of how we are each “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalms 139:14, NIV).

Like Wayne who was adventurous and had a strong sense of fairness as a child, ponder your childhood years and ask:

• What people, places, or activities did you gravitate towards? Why?

• What were you naturally good at? What were you not as naturally good at?

Cross-reference your childhood with the people, places, and activities in your life today. What trends do you notice?

Mentors carry an outsider perspective. They often see in us what we cannot see ourselves. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Early in Batman’s story, Ra’s al Ghul poured into Wayne as his mentor. Therefore, whether it be a parent, an older sibling, or a wise friend in the community, think through your mentor(s) and consider:

• What traits have they affirmed and encouraged in you?

• What areas of growth have they verbalized and challenged you in?

• Where do they envision you going in your life and work?

Pursue mentors in the search for awareness and direction.

Launching into new and challenging experiences is a great life teacher. For example, Native American tribes often sent boys into the wilderness alone as a “rite of passage” into manhood. Children were ceremonially launched into adulthood, learning much along the journey.

Although modern society typically does not engage in rites of passage, there are “launch” seasons ingrained throughout life, especially in your 20’s and 30’s. It could be graduating college, moving to a new city, or beginning a career.

Like Batman who grew immensely after his launch as Gotham’s protector, think through your launch seasons and ask:

• Who were you before a launch season?

• What lessons did you learn in the launch season?

• What values, skills, and thinking carried through after the launch season?

Use launch seasons to celebrate wins and learn from losses.

There are threads in Bruce Wayne’s family, childhood, mentorship, and launch that made him Batman.

His family of origin was wealthy yet justice-focused with their philanthropy, much like who he was as Batman. He learned to manage fear as a child and later mastered combat through his mentor, both aiding him as he fought crime in Gotham. In his launch, he deepened a passion for order.

Ultimately, Wayne channeled the threads of his past towards a calling — to save Gotham by creating order in a broken system.

Awareness ➡️ Calling

➞TheYoPoll

As always, let us know how we can help you on your journey.

In Your Corner.

See you next Tuesday!