“…the soul of a free man looks at life as a series of problems to be solved and solves them, while the soul of a slave whines “What can I do who am but a slave?”
George S. Clason
I can relate to this quote because when my life was falling apart, I did feel like a slave. In the sense that I felt like I had no hope for the future. Everything I loved was taken from me so what was the point?
This is that point in the movie where the hero meets the wise sage who challenges the hero to get up and keep moving forward. The sage shows the hero two paths; wallow in your past defeat or forge a new path. The new path will take strength and determination for it will stretch and challenge the hero in new ways.
The key is the mindset shift in the hero. They have to shift from seeing failures as defeats to seeing failures as learning opportunities.
You only fail when you quit.
Think of the toddler who is learning to walk, what mindset do they have? Do they give up after a few attempts and say, “what can I do who am but a toddler?” or do they get back up and try it again and again?
Yes, that kid will get their share of bumps and bruises as they learn to walk but it’s worth it when they finally get to run.