Not today, bullets. You’re not even real, lol.
The first Matrix movie was revolutionary in film for many reasons and it's influence on pop-culture remains even 2 decades after debuting.
One of my favorite scenes was at the end when Neo is fighting the agents. He is originally taught that if he sees agents in the Matrix, to just run, there is no fighting them, they cannot be defeated.
And this theme is carried out throughout the movie; Neo and his pals are constantly on the run from agents while trying to go after their mission of freeing humanity from machine enslavement.
But at the end, Neo realizes his full potential and power, and instead of running from the agents, runs directly at them.
I've always loved this scene, and for me now, it's a representation of one of the greatest realizations and mindset shifts I've ever had: Challenges are constant, there is no avoiding them. To think, "when XYZ happens or ABC is over, then I'll have zero problems and only THEN can I be happy, creative, take risks, etc".
I spent a lot of my life avoiding challenges, and then being critical of 'why must this be difficult?!"
My life has been 10x better when I stopped running from challenges and starting running directly at them like Neo does in the Matrix. It's one of the most empowering and freeing feelings ever (like the feeling of skydiving except you feel that way like, constantly).
I never realized how much of my time and energy was spent on judging the challenges I had (and judging myself) that occur daily, and how much it was a drain on not just my ability to solve those problems but in draining my ability to enjoy everyday life.
Life is not meant to be lived for the weekend, a vacation, or in the hopes that all your problems disappear.
Taking control of your world in accepting challenges and having the confidence in your ability to handle them and persevere frees your mind to live in a flow state, or be relaxed and calm during crisis, or even enjoy a random Monday night where nothing particularly interesting happens with the same satisfaction, joy, and peace you might feel while kicking it on an exotic beach drinking a cold one with your friends/family without a care in the world.