I recently saw Disney’s Moana and really enjoyed it. I may have been over-analyzing and reading into everything too much while watching the movie, but these are the lessons I think we should all take away from the story of Moana.
1. You are stronger than you think. Moana did not think she could successfully complete the task the Ocean had given her. Yet, with the knowledge that her grandmother’s spirit believed in her, she was able to dig deep and find the courage to keep fighting to convince Maui to the restore the heart. All of us are stronger than we give ourselves credit for and when we are determined to reach a goal, nothing can stop us except ourselves.
2. It is never too late to apologize when you wrong someone. By stealing Te Fiti’s heart, Maui turned her into a raging lava monster and was scorned by the gods. Thousands of years later, he was still able to right his wrong by restoring the heart. Te Fiti and the gods forgave him and Moana’s people were saved. If Maui could fix his mistake that cursed the entire planet after thousands of years, you can apologize to the friend or family member you wronged a couple days ago.
3. Sometimes your intentions don’t translate through your actions. Maui believed that by stealing the heart he was also stealing its ability to create life. He wanted to give humans that ability and stole the heart for them. Unfortunately, the heart only creates life when under the control of Te Fiti and he ended up plaguing the entire world with slow, but certain doom. Even though your intentions may be good, your actions will not always have the desired effect. You may say something that is meant to be a compliment and the person may take it the wrong way. That’s neither your fault nor theirs. Do your best to think about your actions from many perspectives to prevent the likelihood of a misunderstanding.
4. Everyone has a purpose. Drumstick lacked common sense and intelligence, but saved the heart from falling into the ocean. Even if you are as dimwitted as Drumstick, you are valuable and on this earth for a reason.
5. Sacrificing for the good of someone else, will be rewarding. Maui selfishly says that he can’t risk another hit to his hook and leaves Moana to fight on her own. When he comes back and uses his hook to save her, she is able to give Te Fiti the heart and restore peace to the world. Moana and the world are saved due to Maui’s act of selflessness. He is rewarded by Moana’s gratitude, the feeling that he did what was right, and the gods giving him a new hook. We may not necessarily get back what we sacrificed for someone else, but we will be rewarded in other ways, such as with the knowledge that we did the right thing.
6. Scary doesn’t mean bad. Chief Tui is terrified of the ocean because when he was younger, his best friend drowned. His people are scared to go beyond the reef because they have been taught that it is dangerous and the ocean is a threat. Moana goes past the reef and struggles the first time but succeeds the second time. Venturing out into the ocean leads to her saving the world, proving that just because something is scary doesn’t mean we can’t handle it or that it’ll be negative.
7. It takes courage to become the person you were meant to be. If your dreams don’t scare you, dream bigger. Moana was always drawn to the ocean and taking that first step of stealing the boat and going beyond the reef took immense courage. The Ocean chose her to complete the task and she tried to deny it because she was scared. Once she trusted her intuition and took to the ocean like she had always dreamed of, she found strength within herself and became the person she was destined to be.
8. Break boundaries. Stand out. Nobody else in Moana’s village was willing to attempt going past the reef. Everybody was scared of the ocean. Gramma Tala admired the ocean and encouraged Moana to explore it. Gramma Tala seemed like the least stressed person in the village and like she loved every minute of everyday that she spent dancing with the ocean. Everyone thought she was crazy, but she was happy and enjoying herself so she didn’t care. We should all strive to have a little bit of the “Village Crazy Lady” in us. Moana went against the idea that the ocean was evil and saved her people because of it.
9. Educate yourself. Gramma Tala enlightened Moana with the true history of her people, which changed the way she viewed their culture entirely. It was also the final push she needed to follow the call of the Ocean. It is important to have your facts straight so that your understanding of the people and world around you are as accurate as possible. Do your own research. Don’t just take what you are taught in school and read on the internet as valid when it could be biased or inaccurate.
10. Believe in yourself and your intuition. Moana felt the pull of the Ocean and knew from the time she was young that she needed to travel beyond the reef. Other people shut down her idea, but in her gut she knew the truth. By following her intuition, she reached her full potential as a chief. She got scared during her voyage but her faith in herself was renewed by the spirit of Gramma Tala. Once she regained her confidence, she was unstoppable. Follow your intuition and you will reach your full potential. Remain confident in yourself and you will be able to do amazing things.
Keeping these lessons in mind, I hope you have a great week! If you haven’t seen Moana yet, I highly recommend it!
