There is a popular show about the biggest weight loser—a psycho-drama of will and exercise, in which the viewer participates in the participants’ struggles and efforts. It concerns repairing our lives through a new attitude toward, not just food and our bodies, but our lives and our purpose and our worth.
If I created a reality show it would be “The Biggest Gainer.” It would follow the real-life dilemmas of people, not fighting their weight, but trying to raise kids and hold jobs and pay mortgages with intention and nobility. And I would follow them until they got stuck in a nice big problem and paradox:
- Do I listen to my boss and fire my employee, or stay loyal—the signals are not clear?
- Do I tell all the truth on this, or sort of select parts of the situation to reveal and parts to conceal? How much do I say?
- Do I buy a bigger house and put some financial pressure on us, or do we stay in a more modest home, even if it is a bit cramped?
Then I would follow the decision-making process and thoughts of the people making the decisions: How they weigh the good and the unknown of a decision that has good and bad elements; How they have to decide, even when they don’t know, and live with the consequences.
And, in the show we would see the participants get wiser and grow, because they were willing to hang tough with the unknown. They would not always be right, but they would always grow into more of their potential. They would enlarge their perspectives, and one of them would be the biggest gainer.
That is the kind of show I want to see.
Image used above: Some rights reserved by ideowl