We all go through interviews. Job interviews. Daily conversations. And the hardest one—the questions we ask ourselves. It's all part of life as we search for our purpose.
Remember Master Oogway and Po in Kung Fu Panda?
Oogway finds Po eating, clearly upset.
"So, you eat when you are upset?" he asks gently.
Po's mouth is full. "No… I'm not upset."
Oogway pauses. "So why are you upset?"
Then Po tells him everything. His fears about being the Dragon Warrior. His feeling that he doesn't measure up. "I'm not like the other five. I have no claws, no wings, no venom. Maybe I should just quit and go back to making noodles."
Oogway stays calm. "Quit, don't quit. Make noodles, don't make noodles. You worry too much about what was and what will be. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present."
I work with young adults. Recently, I had a conversation that reminded me of Po.
She's confident, well-spoken, cool. She carries herself with ease. To everyone around her, she seems sure of herself.
But when we sat down, she told me something different. Deep down, she felt inferior. "Am I good enough?" she would ask herself. "No," she would answer. "You're not."
Society had told her this. And she believed it.
When she shared this with me, I was shocked. "Really?" I kept asking. "Is that what you think?"
Yes, she said. Yes.
I had been completely wrong about her. The person who seemed so strong was suffering inside, trapped by words planted in her long ago. Words that had grown like thorns.
Why should we let society tell us who we are? Why should we believe it?
We talked. She smiled. She cried. And together, we decided. We would plant a new seed. Not the one society gave her, but one that reflects who she truly is.
The Dragon Warrior she was meant to be.
The Dragon Warrior that she is. That I am. That you are.
We don't need wings to fly. We are born to be free—free to be who we truly are.
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