10 things I learnt from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

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Source: Google Images
 
There are some movies which make you smile, make you cry, make you love and then there are some movies which make you think - about you, about life and about everything around you. They stay with you for long, as a beautiful reminder life sent your way to share it's secrets with you.
 
One such movie has to be The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. One of the most beautiful movies I watched in recent times and if asked what attracted me to it, perhaps this post could be an answer. For starters the tagline says it all - Stop dreaming, start LIVING. Sharing with you some wonderful lessons I learnt from this movie :

Source: Google Images
 1. Beautiful things don’t ask for attention
 
A very simple statement made very nonchalantly in the movie but a profound one with deep meaning. How true it is, beautiful things don’t ask for attention. We give them for we want to capture their beauty in our thoughts, photographs or through our words. For they, just bask in their own beauty as they know they are BEAUTIFUL.
 
 
 
Source: Google Images

2. The No – No’s
 
Throughout your life, you will manage to find a lot of people who will keep saying you can’t and they should actually be the reason for you to do it all the more and prove them wrong. Walter had to face a lot of humiliation at work; sometimes to the extent where it felt that whatever he had done till now was next to nothing. But he held on tightly and made those very people say yes! You can. Say no to the no’s.
 
3. Ask and You shall Receive
 
In life many a times we doubt our own worth. We wonder if we really deserve what we want to have and that is where we are wrong. The universe functions on a very simple rule – Ask and you shall receive.
 
Source: Google Images
4. Follow your heart
 
In his journey to find Sean Penn, Walter comes across many instances where he is staring face to face with his worst fears. And all that he does in those moments is listen to his heart. As a child I was always told that heart is made to beat and pump blood while mind is to take decisions. If you let your heart do what your mind is supposed to you will always be wrong. As I grew up I realised how wrong that lesson was in itself. Listening to your heart is like telling your own self Yes I am alive for a reason and I know that reason. Listen to your heart and follow it, always and all ways. Most of the times it knows you better than you do and takes you to the right place.
 


Source: Google Images
5. Keep your eyes and mind open
 
Sometimes what we seek is hovering nearby, but in a form which we cannot recognise it. Because we are busy comparing it with the image in our mind rather than trying to see its beauty. We have a pre-conceived notion about things, a definition of how it is supposed to be. And it is so rigid that we fail to see it the way it is and appreciate its beauty. (Like that negative!! )
 
 
 
6. Love is strength
 
Whenever we are in trouble the biggest strength is love of our loved ones - family, friends, people whom we love or people who love us. Their thoughts help us stay afloat as their love becomes the warmth in the chilliest of nights and the cool breeze on the hottest days. Remember the way Walter keeps thinking of Cheryl (on whom he has a secret crush) on his journey and unknowingly she gives him strength to sail through.  


Source: Google Images

7. You Matter
 
What the world thinks of you doesn’t matter as long as you know the REAL you and are proud enough to flaunt it. Walter though docile in his behaviour never let the negative words of his fellow co workers or superiors impact him. For he knew what he was and he loved what he was doing to the core so much that his passion reflected in his work. That is what happens when you do something you love having accepted yourself wholly and completely.
 
8. Holding on and Letting go
 
Holding on and letting go – two of the most important and crucial decisions of life and yet the most complex for it is very important to know what to do and when. Walter had the choice of letting his job go and not worry about the lost negative. He had nothing to gain even after he had found it for someone who didn’t even value his contribution of all these years. And yet he worked behind it for he knew it was time to hold on and prove himself not for anyone else but for himself.
 
Source: Google Images
 
9. A need for YOU
 
The world doesn’t need people like US. It needs us to stand up and be in control. And that is how WE make the world.
 
10. Surprises are always in store
 
Life is full of surprises and sometimes you get one when you are least looking for. Remember the cover photograph that Walter keeps looking for throughout the movie not even knowing it could be him and ends up unearthing a treasure for himself.
 
Source: Google Images
The beauty of this movie is that for each one there can be a varied list of lessons to be learnt. For me, it redefined life is more than one ways!
 
P.S: If you haven't watched it till now, do watch it!

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