10 Disney Life Lessons We Can All Use Today

1. Make like Elsa and let it go. Forgive and forget, not for the other person, but for you. You owe it to yourself to let go of any negativity holding you back from fully living your life. Run into a childhood foe? Smile and say hi. Grumpy person yells at you? Cuts you off on the highway? Shake it off. A moment can only ruin your day if you let it. A memory can only ruin your life if you give it the power. Give power to the good thoughts, and let the bad ones go.

2. All it takes is faith and trust…and a little bit of pixie dust. Believe in yourself, and pull your dreams towards you. Don’t let anyone tell you can’t, especially yourself. Bunnies can be police officers in a world full of predators and snowmen can enjoy summer if they just believe.

3. The bare necessities of life are Hakuna Matata. We spend too much time worrying about the future that we never get to enjoy the now. Live that great life that is in you. Don’t worry so much about the little things, they’ll all fall into place. Make time for fun. Make time for the things and people that you’ll remember. When you look back on life, make sure you lived one you’re proud of and found your own bare necessities.

4. Someday my prince will come. I don’t know about you, but I’m sure hoping this one is true.

5. Green isn’t anyone’s color. Scar, Ursula, Lady Tremaine, the Snow White Evil Queen, Hades. What do these all have in common? Envy. To the point of ruining another’s life. One thing I’ve learned is that jealousy is a type of fear. Fear of not being enough, or not having enough. Pay attention to your own lane. If you want something, work for it, put all your energy into attaining it yourself, instead of hating another person for having what you don’t.

6. Find out what’s beyond the river bend, or how far you’ll go, because a dream is a wish your heart makes. Go after what makes your life feel complete. If you have a passion for it, pursue it. Don’t wonder when will your life begin.

7. Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. Make family wherever you go and then make time for them. Put your family in your schedule. They are the people that are going to pick you up when you fall apart, and honey, you will. Even if your family is a little weird, like a talking dog, a camper, and an old man with a flying house (Up), an alien and two sisters (Lilo and Stitch) or a warthog with a gas problem, a meerkat with a sass problem, and a lion with a past (Lion King), they’ll always be there to make you laugh and cheer you on.

8. “You can’t marry a man you just met.” Thank you, Elsa, for pointing out an obvious flaw in some Disney films.

9. Make mistakes. Touch the boat when your dad warns you otherwise, go out beyond the reef, or find a way out of the tower even if your mom doesn’t want you to. Maybe don’t go as far as Merida and turn your mom into a bear, but learn that failure is okay. It is more than okay, it is essential. You will fail, and you will fall. The important part is that you just keep swimming.

10. Stay true to yourself. “The things that make me different are the things that make me me.” –Winnie the Pooh. Be weird. Be funny. Be crazy. Make sure your reflection shows who you are inside. Your quirks are what make you special.