The Great Montage

Daniel Church

30 Nov 2023 — 3 min read

I hate to admit it, but in hindsight, Suits had an outsized impact on my consideration of attending law school. Seeing Mike come in with an analysis or answer, Harvey delivers the result eloquently. Who doesn't want to be like that? What I was missing, though, was that the satisfying outcome represented at most 1% of the job. The other 99% was sleepless nights and reading through thousands of pages of dense and dry legal documents. That sounds awful.

You may be wondering. Daniel, why do I care that you almost made a major life decision based on a well-cut TV show? Because it took me way too long to realize that the life I live day in and day out is captured in the montage. I spent too much time focusing on the outcome and ignoring the tradeoffs, difficulty, or the fact that even with a successful result, people never really feel like they have made it.

Let's run through a few more examples.

An Aspirational Age

Around freshman year of college, being a digital nomad seemed like a great way to live. They are constantly traveling, experiencing the world, and learning new things. Who can deny how much fun they seem to have on Instagram? However, many novel experiences don't make for a good life. I realized I wasn't willing to give up family and friends, the ability to have children, or even something basic like being a regular at my favorite restaurant to see more of the world.

The Cost of Greatness

David Senra, who hosts the Founders podcast, was on the Art of Investing podcast and observed that of the over 300 founders he has studied, all but 3 of them were cautionary tales. These people were so talented in their field that someone took the time to write a book about them, but more than 99% of them did not live good lives. You have to give it all to achieve that level of success. Yet, I still sometimes think I want to be like them. I see people who have achieved massive success and forget their sacrifices to get there.

Quality Time

Jerry Seinfeld^[1] said he doesn't want quality time. He wants the garbage time. The idea is that when you only consider some of your time to be "quality,” you will devalue the rest of your time, and likely, anytime you do get this "quality time,” it will be overhyped and disappoint you. Up, a movie with one of the most incredible montages of all time has something to say. Carl thought the adventure was the one they had planned, but it was the one they had that mattered. Ellie recognized this and filled out their adventure book while Carl was still waiting for life to begin. Waiting to start living your life once you have X or until Y happens will always leave you waiting.

Being Present

How do we become okay with living in the montage instead of outcomes? Tim Urban recommends gratitude in his article Life is a Picture, But You Live in a Pixel, covering a similar topic. Another part is being honest with yourself about what you enjoy and what you are willing to sacrifice to have the outcomes you want, whether it be related to your family, career, or hobby.

I still struggle to apply this concept to my life. It’s easy to get caught up in seeing someone else’s life and desiring it before thinking about what it took. But I do find this idea freeing. It gives me a sense of calm that I lacked before. Life isn’t about the outcomes, it is about moments.