14 things Walter Mitty taught us!

There are so many theories about the purpose of life and ways to lead it. So many scholars have researched on it,many self help gurus give some gyaan about it,books tell a myriad ways and every individual will have his own definition of it.Which one to accept is left to the discretion of each person and his thought process. What works for one might not work for another and so there is no particular way to lead a good life or a definition of a good life.I happened to watch the recent Hollywood release 'The secret life of Walter Mitty' starring Ben Stiller and though I went in with zero expectations and with a blank mind as I did not know anything about the movie,those 2 hours held my attention like no other recent film had done! More than the film,it was the story packed with subtle,yet profound messages which left a deep impression. The story is never in your face,but if analysed well,the deeper meanings that most scenes carried were efficacious.So,I present here the 14 things that I could decipher.

1.Everyone has a hero within.

The protagonist Walter Mitty has a strange 'ailment'. He is a day dreamer and frequently slips into his own world,oblivious of the things going on around him at any point of time! He is a quiet,diffident man who rarely speaks with people and dreams about being a superhero who can jump buildings,smash people and do many things that normal people can never do. Though most people do not dream to this extent,they still have a hero within,a markedly different person from the one who is outward,who can do most of the things that the outward guy cannot do! Befriend that inner person and enjoy some impossible things that he can make you do.It is perfectly fine to dream stupid things,as long as it does not affect your balance in life. There are some situations in life in which you would have no control,let go of the inner hero to poke someone who hurt you,who was unfair with you! Life has a way of getting back,but why restrict the hero to have some fun,at least for a few moments.Let him solve yours and the whole world's problems momentarily! Also use him to push you to fulfill your ambitions!

2.Commitment to work.

Walter Mitty is a negative assets manager in 'Life' magazine and he cannot find the most important cover photograph called the 'Quintessence of life'. The magazine would be on the verge of closing down its print section and would be switching over to just an online edition,due to which huge downsizing will be in progress. To find that one photograph,he starts following the clues and travels across countries and continents with unswerving commitment and dedication.Even after 15 years of service behind his back, his commitment to his work is something to be learnt.He could have taken it easy and come out with excuses,but he ensured that he gave more than 100% to the task on hand. Commitment is so important.

3.Life skills acquired never go waste.

Build a good professional career,but keep cultivating good hobbies and other skills. Walter has a good hobby in skating and it helps him cover a significant distance in the beautiful landscapes of Iceland,where he does not find a vehicle to take him to his destination. He borrows skates from a young boy,glides blithely on the road and reaches his next destination well on time. This amply suggests that we never know when a skill or a hobby comes to our aid in the journey of our life. So,take out some time and spend it on learning or honing some hobbies/skills. They give a good change and a lot of pleasure. It is never a waste of time and they never go waste. 

4.Look within.Then look around.

Mitty travels to far away places in search of that one elusive negative which can be given by Sean O Connell (played in the film by Sean Penn),the one who had delivered the set of negatives.One of the negatives depicts a piano with a slight cut on one of its sides.Walter roams around many places keeping these negatives as clues,but returns dejected as he cannot find the man and the clues do not lead him to the right destination.As he sits at home with a forlorn feeling,he notices the piano with a miniscule cut in his own house!His mother tells him that the man he was searching for had come to their house and taken a picture of the piano!How many times such a thing happens with us?We keep searching for things,for happiness,for peace outside ourselves and our own surroundings.We unnecessarily make things complicated,while everything that we want and  that we search for is available within us.So look within first,then look around as you can answer most of your own questions.

5.Find yourself through adventure.

Walter Mitty,a boring,uninspiring man who was leading an unhappy life,dreaming about things,but never having the courage to improve his own life,who was a loner and who never got a single hit on the dating site eharmony.com metamorphosed into a confident man with a clear purpose.He swam in the ocean for a few minutes with a dangerous shark,cycled across mountains,skated across a beautiful terrain,survived a volcanic eruption,climbed the treacherous and grueling terrains of the Himalayas in Afghanistan. After all this adventure,Walter Mitty found himself and he was a different person later. We can get to know ourselves better when we travel,when we do something adventurous.Life is about courage and going into the unknown.We might come face to face with our own strengths and weaknesses and as Walter Mitty found a better person,we too might find one!

6.Face fears head on.

If Walter had allowed his fears to take over,then he would have never taken the pains to go around countries looking for the negative and he would never have boarded the plane piloted by a heavily drunken man.If he had missed that,he would have totally lost out on a wonderful phase of his life.He came face to face with a shark in the chilly ocean and survived an eruption too! He found out his destiny in the end as he faced his fears nonchalantly and tried to reach his goal despite the seemingly insurmountable odds.So face your fears and let them not come in the way of your destiny.If you let them in,they will crush you.Strength is life and fear is death!

7.Be confident.

Walter never under-estimated his own potential and was always positive about finding Sean O Connell. He had a reassuring confidence about himself and the way he had chosen.Despite the obstacles which came his way,he came out triumphant in the end and that was largely due to his self-belief and self-confidence. In so many situations of our life,we doubt ourselves,our own abilities and lack confidence as well.It is important to respect the uniqueness of each task and each person.We usually never get anything apart from misery trying to compare ourselves with others.The other person is always better in our view(The grass is always greener on the other side of the hedge!),so what we need to do is to have a lot of confidence in ourselves and our abilities.Whether we can accomplish something or not with an abundance of confidence is not the question,but just the feeling of being confident elevates us. Confidence and belief are so very important in our lives.

8.Take a decision.

Right through the story,Walter has to make a lot of choices and his decision making ability is put to test repeatedly.If he had spent more time in taking decisions or if he had not taken any,everything would have slipped by and he would have lost his face,his job and his life would have turned worse. But each time,Walter MADE the decisions and tried his best to make them right.Quite often,life puts you at crossroads and you need to take a decision to move forward.The rest of the journey depends on the way you choose,but what is important is that you take a decision first.Evaluate the possibilities , opportunities and risks and then move ahead to make the choice.Whether the choice later turns bad or good,the experience gained is invaluable.Keep putting in good efforts to make your decision the right one,but if it does not work out,you do not lose out much and learn some very important lessons. Either way,you are the gainer.

9.Find the way out.

Problems keep coming hard at us in life,but what is important to understand is that every problem will have a solution if we make the effort to find it. Walter had to barter his favourite childhood toy to get a pair of skates so that he could continue his journey.He had little money to afford cars,time was at a premium and he was facing quite a problem. But rather than sitting with his hands on his head,he was smart enough to find out the solution for it.If one way closes,there will be many other ways to reach a destination.Be smart enough to find it and do not let problems get the better of you.Keep finding ways out of problems always.

10.Find joy in nature.

Mitty's journey ranged from the lonely places of Greenland to the alluring plains of Iceland and finally ends in the snow capped wonders of the Himalayas.Being one with nature throughout this journey heals the fraught mind and heart of Walter. He is able to connect with his past and makes peace with whatever had happened in the distant past,where a very ebullient boy who sported a mohawk becomes a dejected man after losing his father.This journey through the intricate places of the wondrous nature brings back a lot of life in Mitty.Never underestimate the healing touch that nature can provide.A delightful sunrise,a glorious sunset,the dancing of waves in a sea shore,the sound and smell of rain,alluring landscapes etc have a potent power to refresh,revitalise and rekindle our spirits. Always be in touch with the multifarious nature around and see the remarkable joy it brings to your heart.

11.Family bails us out.

Towards the end of his journey,Walter realizes that Sean O Connell had kept the most important last negative in a wallet that he received along with the negatives.In a moment of dejection,Walter would have thrown the wallet into the dustbin as nothing was going right for him at a particular point of time.Once Sean O Connel makes him aware that he had kept the negative in an inner compartment,Mitty realizes the foolishness he has done by throwing it away.After returning,he makes a passing reference about the wallet to his mother,who instantly tells him that she found it in the dustbin and has kept it safely!Does it not ring a bell? We keep doing these things many times in our everyday lives and most often,our family would have come to our rescue. Even if we get into more serious troubles,it is our family which we ultimately have to fall back on. Success gives many friends,but problems and failures introduce the world to us.Family is like a pillar of support no matter what the situation,so always hold on to it and nurture good relationships with your dear ones.

12.Gadgets and technology do not own you.

Walter Mitty finally comes face to face with the seasoned photographer O Connell at the top of the Himalayan mountains in Afghanistan,while O Connell is waiting for one fleeting glimpse of the ever elusive snow leopard. In the middle of their interaction,O Connell notices the snow leopard! He had been waiting for that one picture for many days and here it was,right in front.But to Mitty's surprise,the ace photographer just starts gazing at it without even clicking a picture. He later tells that sometimes it is important to just enjoy such rare moments without the distraction of a camera. This one line is so congruous for today's times.In the case of a camera,we get so engrossed in clicking pictures that we hardly give any time for our eye to catch hold of the beauty in front of it. It is so essential to first experience the aura of a moment,to stay in it,to live it,rather than getting busy to click a perfect shot.Make sure that you engrave in your mind that you own the gadgets and not the other way round. Enjoy the natural and unblemished part of life;gadgets and technology are just a part of your life,not your entire life!

13.Do not assume things.

Walter has a special place in his heart for a colleague Cheryl Melhoff,who is undergoing a troubled marriage and has separated from her husband.Though Walter never confesses his love to her,both of them become very good friends and she also helps him to find the negative. On his return,Mitty visits her house to gift her son the pair of skates that he had borrowed in Iceland.But on seeing a man open the door,he believes that it is her husband and returns without even meeting her.When he realizes later that it was a plumber and not her husband,he realizes his folly.But,luckily it is not too late and both of them confess their love for each other. In his case,it did not slip out of hand before he knew the reality.But,most of the times,that is not so.Remember to give the benefit of doubt to the other person once before coming to a conclusion and do not assume things on your own without even thinking properly,because most of the times we would have assumed that the house has come crashing down,when only a small jar would have fallen!In today's times,relationships are fragile and do not make it even more complicated with your own theories and assumptions.Keep it simple and make room for positivity.

14.Be your own hero.

After such phenomenal experiences,Mitty realises his own self worth and becomes a changed man from the inside. He discerns that he needs to help himself and has to be his own hero if he has to build some value and respect in life.He gets acquainted with the fact that it is not enough to just have an inner hero,but that inner hero must manifest himself outwardly too.Hence,he takes the 25th cover negative ,walks straight to his office ,barges inside a meeting of the manager and speaks his mind after giving the negative. The manager who always belittled Walter,who had no respect for him or his years of service for the magazine is taken aback by this self assertion. He gets to know his folly and to everyone's surprise,the last edition would be dedicated to all the people who toiled hard to make the magazine what it was and the cover photo was of,yes,you guessed it right; Walter Mitty. This man became a hero because he chose to take matters into his own hand,he chose to take the responsibility of his life.He made it amply known to everyone that he could not be taken for granted and he did it with a lot of dignity.Nobody will take your decisions,nobody will stand up for you,nobody gives a heck about what you are as a person.You need to take complete control,it is your life, your destiny where you will not have anyone to blame as you reap what you sow.So always stand up for yourself,be your own hero,speak up for yourself when needed and never let anyone run you down. If you do not become your own hero,nobody else will! Think over.

Well,that was my analysis of this extremely profound story.So often in movies,we miss these simple,deep rooted messages. It is like losing sight of the trees in search of the forest.It is quite vital to take out the positives out of everything we encounter in our daily lives and if we can learn something from those positives,it just helps us grow as human beings. Each one of us wants to be a winner in life and like Walter Mitty taught us how to reap our destiny,find your own ways to fulfill yours! I will end this piece with a quote found in Walter Mitty's wallet gifted by Sean O Connell,which is repeatedly shown in the movie and the interpretation is left to the wisdom and discretion of the readers.

"To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls,to draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life."