The secret to success? What gives me the right even to discuss it right? Thankfully, I do not have to be an actual success to talk about this because I will share what I learned from Kung Fu Panda 2 The Movie. When I watched this movie for the first time, I did not manage to see its value completely. Perhaps most of us will agree that this movie is funny, heart-warming, and inspiring but allow me to share more about the purpose of this film, or at least how I thought it was to me. To begin this post, I would like to share the background of Po, aka Kung Fu Panda, and why he is more than just a panda who loves kung fu and become good at it.
Po’s Sad Story (Spoiler Alert!)
Remember the start of Kung Fu Panda 1? Po was depicted as a Kung Fu crazed character who idolized the Furious 5 that were well-known for their martial arts. At that time, he was supposed to be nothing more than a sad and depressed panda. Not only is he working at a noodle shop that he does not have a passion for he is also an orphan and the only panda in the country. Yet Po displayed nothing but intense passion for Kung Fu at every possible juncture whilst fulfilling his duties at the shop. To think that he was able to live with purpose and a goal in mind is commendable for sure and remember the scene when the dragon warrior was chosen? All Po felt was admiration and had no sense of envy or self-pity. While we can dismiss all that and say that Po is a fictional character, we do have quite a bit to learn from him if we want to become a Dragon Warrior in our own world. Now I hope you get why I wanted to share what it takes to become a successful person in life.
We all know what it takes to become successful
Whether it is to get your dream job, reach a financial milestone, or reach a desirable fitness level, all of these will require us to make some sacrifices and overcome prejudices and an abundance of challenges. However, few people are willing to go through all these, instead, they spend time and energy to justify why it is unfair or unachievable due to certain life circumstances or personal limitations. to be honest, there are few things in life that we cannot achieve but rather we are often too lazy or not determined enough to achieve them. Say for example losing weight, how many times have I heard people who are trying to lose that 10 pounds saying that they will do everything except proper cardio exercises Instead, they will go for low-intensity exercises and complain why they cannot run and or swim. Well, the truth is, the thing which hinders us most from our success is actually our unwillingness to do what we need to do, not what we cannot do. Maybe you can let that sink in a bit more.
Focus on the future rather than thinking about how the past has affected us
A mouthful in a title for sure but it carries the essence of this paragraph. Most people blame their character and attitudes on past experiences and while that might be true as the past does shape us all, we should not allow it to dictate our future. I for one am guilty of this in so many ways. I shared bits and pieces of my childhood in some earlier posts but in short, I always feel very shortchanged by my childhood and teenagehood. I was fat, unpopular, has no money, and was always left out in social groups, to the point that I started building walls around myself to prevent any more sadness caused by my inability to socialize with people in school. Even though things have changed for the better when I entered adulthood, I still feel my history haunting me every now and then. I noticed that I am still easily upset when people are treated unfairly and left out such that it will make me feel angry and depressed for the whole day whilst trying to change things for the better. Honestly, I often fail, and that only made me feel even more irritated by the situation. All I have learned is to care less about things that are out of my control, not that I will stop doing what I can to help but to offer care for people who are treated unfairly instead of trying to force things to happen.
Closing Thoughts
There are still many things I have learned from the movie but I guess I will stop here to let you guys watch it on your own to find out more. I hope more people will start to understand how everyday things like movies can help us reflect and learn about things that can help us level up in life. Let us all aspire to be like Po in real life and achieve the success that we want in this lifetime.
