Recently on a trans-Pacific flight, I happened to watch a memorable movie with five of my all-time favorite characters – Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet with Christopher Robin of course. The movie was Christopher Robin.
It was such a throwback to my childhood days and I loved every moment of it. But my masala induced breath (Indian Vegetarian Meal at 40K feet does that to you) started becoming irregular as I had to pause the movie and take frenzied notes when I heard the dialogs mouthed below by Pooh. What was so special about these dialogs? #ReadOn
People say nothing is impossible but I do nothing every day
Such a self-effacing dialog without a hint of egotism or bravado. The typical dialog one hears these days would run “I do the impossible every day” and the retweets and likes would follow. Not for Pooh – he just taught us how to carry ourselves with humility and vulnerability. #Lesson1
Sometimes when I am going somewhere and I wait somewhere comes to me
The frenetic pace of continuous development (equally for human beings as for software) and desire to overachieve allows little time to pause and take a break. What if we become irrelevant and the competition takes over? How about Pooh to the rescue? The gem over here is sometimes we may have reached the destination but not know it because we see something shinier ahead. Stop, take pause and maybe declare success even. #Lesson2
I always get to where I am going by walking away from where I have been
This resonated with me so much. For years, I never knew where I wanted to go. Once I figured that out (the topic for another blog), I could not bring myself to leave everything behind – title, money, prestige. Once I had the courage to walk away from where I had been, I got to where I always wanted to be. #Lesson3
Doing nothing actually leads you to the very best something
This is so hard. How can I not fill every unutilized minute with sixty seconds of productivity? A surreptitious glance at the smartphone for a lighting quick WhatsApp response when I am walking? But I have realized, the ideation and the deepest thinking – be it for blogging, work strategizing or people relationships –only happens when I leave everything behind and stare into #nothingness. Creativity engulfs me. #Lesson4
Keep North Christopher
One of the last dialogs of the movie. Just three words. But power packed abs in the body of the sentence. One friend reaching out to another – Pooh to Christopher and showing his love by gently prodding him to first realize that he needs to have a True North. The Why aka his life’s purpose! Then advising him always to stay true to his moral anchor by keeping aligned with its northerly direction. #Lesson5
That’s it. Five dialogs. Life’s manual delivered by Pooh. So we can explore our own Hundred Acre Wood with conviction, courage, and compassion.