A Viral Shia LaBeouf Interview Changed My Whole Outlook On Life

It might do the same for you

Photo by Hatice Yardım on Unsplash

Shia LaBeouf got on Jon Bernthal’s podcast REAL ONES recently.

Since I loved the movie Fury, and the camaraderie between Jon and Shia in the film, I thought it would be an interesting thing to watch.

I didn’t know that this 20-minute clip on Youtube would hit me like an uppercut from a heavyweight boxer.

The clip has over 1,000,000 views and took Jon’s Youtube channel from 80K subscribers to 120K subscribers in a matter of days.

Shia got very open about his alcoholism in the interview and his road to recovery. Thousands of comments poured in in support.

For me, one moment stood out where he told the story of a Chinese parable.

This is the version of the Chinese parable told on Impossible HQ, but don’t worry — in the interview Shia essentially tells the exact same story.

Once upon a time, there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.

One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically, “you must be so sad.”

“We’ll see,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it two other wild horses.

“How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed! “Not only did your horse return, but you received two more. What great fortune you have!”

“We’ll see,” answered the farmer.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. “Now your son cannot help you with your farming,” they said. “What terrible luck you have!”

“We’ll see,” replied the old farmer.

The following week, military officials came to the village to conscript young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. “Such great news. You must be so happy!”

The man smiled to himself and said once again.

“We’ll see.”

Shia talks about how internalizing the message of this story helped him see problems in his life in a totally new light.

Perhaps they weren’t problems after all. Perhaps they were a blessing in disguise.

I Want To Stop Catastophrizing Shit

In my life recently I’ve catastrophrized a lot of stuff.

I burned out this summer.

My business floundered a little bit.

My sister stopped talking to me.

I had a pet pass away.

I thought all this stuff was bad. It’s a tragedy my sister decided to step away from me and my family. It sucks that my business isn’t making as much money. On and on.

Perhaps, though, this stuff will work out in the end.

Perhaps my sister will come back to us with a renewed sense of appreciation for family time down the road.

Perhaps my business floundering will push me into a line of work I really love.

Perhaps our pet passing away helped remind me of the fleetingness of life.

I realized it’s kinda stupid to label moments of our life as good or bad. That would be like judging a movie after the first 30 minutes.

We need the benefit of time and perspective to see whether certain things were actually good or bad for us in the long run.

I Hope This Gives You Solace In Your Hard Times

Sometimes tough moments are easier when we know things will work out in the end.

Like going to college to get a useful degree.

Or heading to the gym three times per week to get healthier.

We know that eventually the sweat and straining of lifting weights will pay off in the form of a healthier body.

So the next time something “bad” happens to you and your lizard brain tells you “Oh no! This is horrible!”

Simple answer back

“We’ll see.”

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