Be Like Water

Recently, I’ve been rewatching one of my all time favorite shows, Cowboy Bebop.

In episode 8, the main character, Spike, effortlessly beats up two terrorists on a plane. Rocco, a passenger on the same flight, was impressed by Spikes moves. He then asks Spike to teach him how to fight, and Spike reluctantly agrees.

In their first session, Spike spars with Rocco and easily takes him down. When Rocco asks him how he did that, Spike replies:

“You’re tense, I’m calm. You apply excessive force, I control that force through fluid motion. That means relaxing the whole body so it can react instantly without resistance, without thought.

Do you see now?

It means becoming like clear water. Water can take any form, it drifts without effort one moment, then pounds down in a torrent the very next”

This speech, inspired by Bruce Lee’s Be Like Water, was a great reminder for me. I felt like Spike was giving me that advice.

The other day, I didn’t do too well in a job interview. I was nervous and tense. I wasn’t myself and I answered most of the questions quite poorly.

But after watching this episode, for my interview today I told myself to be like water. And treat this next interview not like a fight, but rather a dance.

It turned out to be one of better interviews I’ve done awhile. I was calm, confident, and I was having fun.

For any of life’s high stress situations, whether that be job interviews, exams, or public speaking, I just need to remind myself, “to be like water.”