LIFE LESSONS

Everything Can Be a Life Lesson If You Allow Yourself to Keep Learning

From random encounters to scenes from movies, you can learn from just about anything

The last day of 2021 was a treat for myself and my wife as we were able to catch the latest Spider-Man movie (Spider-Man: No Way Home) in a cinema — our first time watching a movie in the cinema as a couple since January 2018.

My in laws were nice enough to offer to take care of the kids so that we could enjoy some alone time together and we thought, why not watch a movie in the cinema since it’s been almost 4 years.

So, we did and the current latest release is Spider-Man so it was the obvious choice. Plus, we’re pretty big Marvel fans as well and we’ve watched all the previous Marvel movies.

And I’m glad we chose Spider-Man because I think to date, it is definitely one of the best Marvel superhero movies that I’ve watched, probably second to only the Endgame parts.

But what I really enjoyed the most about the movie wasn’t just the awesome graphics, the storyline, or the fact that for the first time on the big screen, we were able to see multiple Spider-Men.

Instead, what I enjoyed the most was the fact that I came out of the cinema feeling inspired, feeling motivated, and feeling that I learned some valuable lessons from it.

And when a movie does that for me, I know it’s really good.

So, what were the lessons that I learned?

*There are some potential spoilers if you continue reading but I will try my best not to reveal anything that you won’t already know from watching the trailers.

With great powers, come great responsibilities

I’ll start with the most obvious from all Spider-Man movies, the line that was uttered by Uncle Ben to Peter Parker multiple times to remind him of his responsibilities.

The thing is, we all have our own powers.

My power is that I’m a father, I’m a husband, I’m a colleague, I’m a son, I’m a friend, etc. and with each of those power, I have my responsibilities for them. The biggest and greatest of the lot would be my responsibilities as a husband to my wife and a father to my kids.

I won’t deny and say that I don’t sometimes think about my life before marriage and children, because I do. And at times, I do miss it.

But at the same time, I wouldn’t change anything at the moment because I love being a dad, and I love being a husband. And I know the responsibilities that I have to them. Sometimes, a little reminder is needed and I got it from watching the movie yesterday.

No matter what happens, do the right thing

Superheroes must always do the right thing, right? Regardless of how bad someone is or how dire a situation is, superheroes must always do the right thing. It’s why Batman never kills, no matter how much he may want to do so to an evil person.

Spider-Man: No Way Home reiterates that many times throughout the movie. Peter is constantly reminded that he should always do the right thing, no matter what happens.

However, sometimes, we just don’t feel like it. We feel like it’s easier not to do the right thing. And not doing the right thing doesn’t always mean you’re doing something bad or something wrong either. It may just not be the BEST thing that you can do at that time.

But doing the right thing should always be the first option, not the last. The movie reiterated that many times and to always remember that no matter what happens, doing the right thing is still the way to go.

Your choices will always come with consequences

Sometimes we feel like we don’t wanna make any decisions or to make any choices because we just don’t want to deal with the consequences that come after it, so we don’t do anything at all.

But not doing anything is also a choice, a decision that we make, and not doing anything has its own consequences too.

The reality is that no matter what it is that we do, it’s a choice that we make and every single choice will come with its own consequences, its own outcome.

Whether we like it or not, that’s just how things are and we have to learn how to accept it and live with it.

The sooner we do that, the easier it is to get on with our lives.

My late father used to always tell me that life is a never-ending lesson. As long as we’re willing to learn, there will always be something new for us to learn along the way. I guess that’s just his lecturer side being present at all times.

But he’s not wrong.

We don’t just learn in school or in college/university. We are constantly learning if we allow ourselves to learn.

We learn from our work experiences. We learn from our parenting experiences. We learn from our friendships. We learn from our relationships — you get where I’m going with this.

Learning is a life-long journey, just as my dad said. As long as we’re breathing, we are learning.

And for me, I truly believe that anything can be a life lesson, for as long as I allow myself to keep learning.

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