Sam and Dean Winchester spent 15 seasons fighting and surviving the attacks of demons, werewolves, vampires, witches and all sorts of various monsters. Even when they did die, they found a way to come back from the dead!
Although most of us don’t find ourselves on a moonlit back road or inside creepy old houses fighting off monsters, we all have those times in our life where we feel like we’re doing our best just to survive the onslaughts of work, life and family. We could take a few tips from Sam and Dean as we face our own monsters in life.
- Choose Your Friends Wisely- Across their journey, the Winchester boys have teamed up with other hunters, angels, even a witch and a vampire here and there. The examples they set had a common theme. We all need people in our lives who we can trust. Putting confidence in someone too quickly or giving them too much influence or power in your life, before they’ve earned it, is a recipe for disaster.
- Keep Your Tools Sharp and Close- A werewolf needs a silver bullet, and a vamp needs that wooden stake through the heart. Burning the bones of a vengeful spirit can end their crazy antics, and the boys could quickly pull an arsenal of knives, guns, potions and other weapons from the trunk of their ’67 Chevy Impala to fight any monster that crossed paths with them. It’s just common sense that we should be just as equipped, trained, ready and aware of the potential conflicts we might have, and the “weapons” we would need to fight them.
- Know Your Limits- How many times did Sam or Dean have to learn this lesson the hard way? Running off to fight a monster alone, or just rushing into the fight to quickly, they would find themselves knocked out, tied up, or about to be eaten alive! ALL OF US have limits- limits to our endurance, limits to our knowledge & skills, and limits to our patience.
- Timing is Everything- It’s hard to find a werewolf in the daylight. That truth speaks for itself. If you don’t get it, then go read something else. Knowing that the right words can be said at the wrong time, or good things can be done too quick or too late can help us defeat those monster problems that cross our path.
- Learn All You Can About Your Problem- Not every monster was the same for the Winchesters. Demons have black or yellow eyes, and jinns have blue eyes. Some monsters bite, others spit poison, and others cast spells. How do you kill or stop any of them? Every monster has a different solution! Cut their head off, create a potion or stab them with an angel sword… just do what works, and to do that Sam usually had his nose poked into some ancient texts. When we’re facing our own crazy problems, it’s smart to do our own research, and get to the core issues if we plan to overcome them.
- Strong People Ask for Help- Dean and Sam had a LOT of help along the way… Bobby, their mom and dad, Cas and even Rowena and Crowley were helpful! Even the Beatles knew they needed their friends to help them get by. Build your support network before you need it, rather than when you are desperate and in crisis!
- The Best Family are Those Your Choose- Jack was one of their closest friends… a nephalim, son of Lucifer and a human. He turned out to be one of their dearest companions in the series, even if he did blast their mom into oblivion accidentally! Dean and Jack CHOSE make Jack a part of their family. He needed them. They needed him. When it all comes down to it, isn’t that what real family is all about, people who need each other, and need to be there for each other?
- Know When to Lighten Up- Of course, Supernatural would not have touched our lives the way it did without the humor spread throughout ever episode. The brothers poked fun at each other, at their friends and even at the monsters. Many times the monsters (Loki for instance), poked fun back in a big way. We could all learn a lesson about lightening up just a bit when we face life’s challenges. Life is way too short to not have fun and laugh along the way! Go have a Supernatural Day!