A Lesson I learned from Avengers: Endgame

The quote is "Everyone fails at who they're supposed to be...A measure of a person...is how well they succeed at being what they are." Thor's mom

This resonated with me so hard in the movie that I immediately pulled out my phone and made a note of that quote. Think about this. We are all trying to be what everyone else thinks we should be, our parents, boss, co workers, friends, spouse, kids, church family, whomever. You don't need to be who everyone else thinks and needs you to be. You have to be you and so your better get to know the real you. You developed an identity when you were too young to even contemplate what an identity was and that carried with you into adulthood. So now the work of unraveling all those expectations and getting to who you truly are begins.

Most people identify themselves by what they do and this is the same for Thor in Endgame. He defined himself as the King of Asgard but that was what others and his birthright defined him as. That was not who he truly was and that was revealed later on in the film. The truth is that when you ask most people who they are, they define themselves by what they do or what they identify with like political affiliation or religion as examples. Most people don't know who they truly are, they are caught up in labels. Because the truth is when we build our lives on anything but the truth, we are always standing on shaky ground. Who we believe we are right now is simply reflections of who we thought or needed to be in the past.

You can only be not enough when you are comparing yourself to other people and there is no comparison. The reason there is no comparison is because you are not them and they not you. You have your own gifts to offer. See the person you want to become and become that because the world is looking for that to fill a void.

Be authentic. Authenticity is consistently being the same person in every instance and situation in your life with yourself and with others. Think about how many faces you have...

Because, true freedom in your life comes from when you have security knowing that in any situation you are authentic. People are drawn to authentic people and it's complete freedom in being who you are, not a facade someone else believes or recognizes.

I know this is heavy self reflection contemplations from a comic book movie, but these are universal truths about each and every one of us, even the characters we make up. Take a while to think about how you define yourself. Write it down. See if all the words are just descriptions and labels instead of what you actually are.

Thor in contemplation in Avengers:Endgame. Photo by Vulture