Self-Respect And Values
4 Lessons From Po The Kung Fu Panda That Leads To Self Respect
Messages worth recap from watching Kung Fu Panda movie you may find more than what I listed here…
There is a hidden message you can find watching Kung Fu Panda movies. I learned it through another writer, and it is worth a recap. While he spoke about creativity, I saw a different angle of lessons Po has been trying to tell me — Self Respect.
Let me begin with Po’s story first in this article.
Po, the panda, has been my favorite icon beside every other movie. When he got the scroll and realized it was empty, he found the answer was all along within him.
His strength, strong will, perseverance, and pieces of training were attributes of his Kung Fu expertise. However, it wasn’t all these that made him strong. It was knowing what he wanted 1st. That was his purpose. To be in martial arts — Kung Fu.
He was uninterested in his father’s noodle shop as an entrepreneur. Po wasn’t well-liked by his peers when he was undergoing training with the Master. And, it was his master who believed he had something to offer that he stayed till he became the defender and protector of the oppressed.
Did he earn his self-respect from everyone? Yes.
1 — Nobody liked Po when he was a misfit in the group. He trained. One step taken is like placing one brick at a time to build a foundation.
Po served society and won its respect. When you have something to give, you will be well-accepted by others. It is the brutality or fraud of life. What you can do is to train in something and offer a service where you earn in return.
2 — Po realized the scroll was empty. It was within him all along. Either he does it, or he doesn’t.
The scroll referred to our Diplomas and Bachelor’s Degrees. It only bears our name written on it. But, these papers do not represent us in the reality of who we are and what we are capable of. It is all within ourselves.
3 — Po’s Master accepted him when the rest were skeptical about his size, features, and capability. His Master knew that he had something in himself to offer. But, what was it exactly? His Master did not know. Only time tells, but his Master’s job was to train him.
Find someone who can help you and benefit himself too. It may not be something that benefits the one who helps on a large scale. But when a disciple excels, the World will ask, “Who is your teacher? Who is our guide? Who is your mentor?”
4 — Po’s father wanted him to be an entrepreneur by continuing the noodle shop. He wants to be a Kung Fu panda. He returned to his father’s shop after missions completed. He continued helping out in the business. But, when needed to serve his society, he went out to serve.
Some of us need to find a job that pays us consistently as we work out our side hustles. It does not mean an end to our passion for writing. But to depend on one source of income is not a wise move. We are likely to lose interest in itself by making it our primary source of income when it hits nowhere. Nobody wants to put all eggs into a basket. When we have to get a job, we have to.
These may not be a perfect fit for answers, and I do not have answers to everything. I may be wrong. I can be wrong too. Remember that humility teaches us wisdom.
However, Po has been trying to tell me more besides entertaining the audience. He has been telling me about self-respect. I felt tempted to deactivate or delete this Medium account. Po came to my thoughts in the mid of daily chaos and noises at home. I could not focus on job seeking. But, Po saved my day.
The next article may likely be about self-respect, which Po hinted to me this morning. The answers are inside his Kung Fu life.
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