jack skellington, life coach
I decided to take a quick walk through the hood yesterday afternoon before the onslaught of trick-or-treaters. In my travels, I came upon a 15-foot, singing animatronic of Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas. I was immediately entranced. He was singing “Jack’s Lament”, the song in which Jack contemplates his purpose in life, having grown tired of the same Halloween routine year after year. That is when it hit me like a ton of bricks, Jack’s calling should not have been to become Santa, but rather a midlife life coach!
I can honestly say that until yesterday, I had never thought to look to Jack Skellington for life advice. I mean the dude is a tall, trippy Skeleton dressed in full goth attire. Not exactly my typical inspirational guru. And yet, as I really listened to his song, I realized that The Pumpkin King was dropping some serious knowledge.
Life coaching from Jack would likely not include vision boards or habit trackers, but here is why I think Jack Skellington might just be the life coach we never knew we needed.
15 Foot Jack Skellington Animatronic
life lessons from the pumpkin king
Embrace your weird & make no apologies for it
Let’s be honest here: Jack is a strange guy. He lives in Halloween Town and sings songs with his ghost dog, Zero. Jack makes no apologies for who he is, and for those of us who have spent the better part of our lives trying to fit in and keep our quirks hidden from the “normal people,” that kind of confidence is inspiring. One of the beautiful things about getting older is that you care less and less about the opinions of others (at least I try to tell myself this). How cool would it be to have a life coach who encourages you to let your inner freak flag fly? Life is short; be weird!
Go for it, even if others don’t get it
Jack found himself in a rut. Like many of us, he knew deep down that something needed to change, but he was comfortable in his role as The Pumpkin King. It wasn’t until he stumbled into Christmas Town that he felt inspired to take action. I feel like many of us can relate to Jack, especially in this chapter of our lives. Obviously, we aren’t in a Tim Burton movie, so maybe throwing complete caution to the wind (or kidnapping Santa) may not be totally advisable, but following your passion or trying something out of the box is highly recommended! Who cares if others think you have a screw or two loose. I know my kids already think I’m nuts, so no big risk for me! What better time than midlife to wander into our own “Christmas Town”?
Find your people
I think we can all agree that Jack can be a bit impulsive. That is where Sally comes in. She is the Ying to his Yang. The perfect balance to his overzealous spirit. The friend who tries to stop Jack from following his penchant to make bad decisions. Whether you are a Jack or a Sally, we all need people who help balance and steer us in the right direction - especially during midlife. Many of us have been so focused on raising kids, being a good spouse, or climbing the corporate ladder that we let our friendships fall by the wayside a bit. Jack’s tale reminds us how important it is to surround ourselves with people who embrace our quirks and love us anyway.
Even all the planning in the world can backfire, be ready to bounce back with a song (literally)
A singing life coach, yes please. My favorite part about Jack is how no matter how many mistakes he makes along the way, he doesn’t let them keep him down. It’s not like he aced taking on the role of Santa. Terrorizing small children with creepy toys is not exactly in the job description. But even when he failed, Jack got up, dusted off the goth suit and broke into song. Midlife is all about bouncing back from setbacks. Unfortunately, even the best five-year plan can’t mitigate all of them. I think Jack the life coach would remind us that mistakes are part of the journey. Sometimes we need to remember we might have to take the detour to find the scenic route.
One word: BURNOUT
Yes, apparently even a Pumpkin King can experience an existential crisis. Jack was just minding his business, going through the motions of reigning over his kingdom, when bam - that nagging “is there more to this life” feeling hits him. Sound familiar? Burnout doesn’t discriminate. All those years of putting those personal goals and dreams on the back burner for “later”, can make us feel like we are living in a perpetual Groundhog Day (I know, different movie). Midlife has an especially unique way of reminding us that “later” has arrived. While maybe he didn’t quite go about it the right way, Jack does show us that it’s ok to admit that we need to change it up from time to time. Jack would be the kind of coach who would definitely encourage a midlife reboot!
Maybe “home” isn’t so bad after all
In the end, Jack realizes that he belongs right where he started, Halloween town. There really is something comforting about this message. Just like all of us who have gotten to this point in life, he experienced, he learned, and now he has ultimately returned to his true calling, Halloween. Jack would be the perfect coach to remind us to celebrate who we are at our core and to embrace whatever “home” means to us, even if we just end up right where we began.
final thoughts
Just think, if listening to a singing 15-foot animatronic on Halloween could motivate me to write this entire post, imagine what Jack Skellington the life coach could do for me. So, here’s to you Pumpkin King for making me realize that I’m not the only one having a Chernobyl level meltdown all while serenading my dog.
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