Stunt Doubles

As this challenging holiday season comes to a close, and Omicron keeps me close to home, I’ve been relying a lot on “baking” cookies (i.e. eating the dough), and streaming comfort movies.  It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf, and The Marvel Universe have kept me laughing, and given me hope, on the days when the outside world feels bleak.

But watching Zachary Quinto and Benedict Cumberbatch duke it out high above San Francisco at the end of Star Trek: Into Darkness also got me thinking about stunt doubles – something I admittedly hadn’t contemplated much in the past.

With all due respect to the talented stunt doubles out there, it doesn’t sound like a great job.  I hope you get paid really well.  And I hope the job is fun.  Because from an outsider’s perspective, you get all the risk, and none of the credit – and you’re fundamentally invisible. 

It seems unfair that rich and famous celebrities get stunt doubles, while we ordinary mortals have to fall down, get hurt, and get right back up.  Having a personal stunt double would seemingly be a very helpful way to survive the trials and tribulations of life.

The bad news is that most of us don’t have the luxury of hiring a personal stunt double.  The good news is that Internal Family Systems (IFS) theory gives us some recourse here.  Internal Family Systems provides a framework for understanding the different “parts” of the self and how they are interconnected.  “Parts” can be named in order to better understand their functions.

Recognizing an internal “stunt double” can be a useful way of managing anxiety, especially about an upcoming risk.  It can offer distance, creative solutions, and a sense of humor, and can help us recognize that we’re more capable and resilient than we realize.  Stunt doubles aren’t infallible, but they’re highly trained and accustomed to risk. They’ve learned how to fall safely, and they’ve had enough experience with broken bones to know that they eventually heal.

It’s a nice fantasy, but it’s not necessary to pay for a personal stunt double when we already have one.  Take some time and explore your inner stunt double.  Give it a name.  Get to know it before you have to take the next big risk.  Learn about its strengths, and what areas it could use more training.  

And be sure that it’s recognized in the Credits.  

.