5 Personal Growth From Frozen 2
I was laid up sick with my daughter this week, so both of us cuddled on the couch and watched Frozen 2–my favorite of all the Disney movies. The movie is brilliant because it teaches invaluable fundamentals on what it means to grow and change in life. On the surface, it may seem as if you’re watching a kids musical, but if you can listen closely enough and see the enchanted forest through the trees (“The forest is a place of transformation” - Olaf), you’ll find so many pearls of wisdom. I’ll highlight five here–but please, watch the movie. For your own good and for your own growth.
The call for change isn’t always so obvious, but more like “just a ringing in my ear,” per Elsa, and we are often tempted to ignore it because the idea of what that change might bring is scary.
The idea that changing ourselves might change the family dynamics we have with our loved ones that help us feel safe and secure is terrifying and often the biggest barrier to our own growth. “Everyone I’ve ever loved is here within these walls, I’m sorry secret siren but I’m blocking out your calls,” she sings.
Breaking free of co-dependencies is critical if we want to make progress on our own journey. When our loved ones sense change in us, they might try to discourage us from following the call, because they fear for our well-being and security, too. Elsa’s sister Anna spends the entire movie trying to hold her sister back from doing anything on her own, for Elsa’s safety, she reasons. But Elsa will never it make it to her self-discovery with her sister in-tow.
The path to personal expansion, growth and progress is an inward journey. The people we’re meant to be have always been there inside us all along. We might have to go on epic journeys–(Elsa braves crossing an ocean and battling an ice horse while trying to stay afloat)–just to find the call we were chasing was bringing us into the deeper trenches of ourselves. Check out these lyrics.
“Every inch of me is trembling
But not from the cold
Something is familiar
Like a dream I can reach but not quite hold
I can sense you there
Like a friend I've always known
I'm arriving
And it feels like I am home
I have always been a fortress
Cold secrets deep inside
You have secrets, too
But you don't have to hide
Show yourself
I'm dying to meet you
Show yourself
It's your turn
Are you the one I've been looking for
All of my life?
Show yourself
I'm ready to learn”
When we saw this live in the movie theatre, I was weeping at this point–being at the point in my own journey when I had realized my biggest obstacle and biggest opportunity to grow was knowing myself.
Elsa is surrounded by a lifetime of memories of herself as she sings…
“Show yourself
Step into your power
Grow yourself
Into something new”
I still cry every time I see this. It hits home, hard.
5. When we improve on ourselves and become the authentic self we’re meant to be, that often means the people around us experience growth, too. I often say a relationship is the space between two people. If one of those people changes, the same between them naturally has to change–and hopefully our loved ones can reorient with that shift, and hopefully that means they grow, too. Despite all of Princess Anna’s apprehensions about Elsa’s change and move into the enchanted forest, where Elsa feels she belongs, Anna ultimately must grow, too, and become the new Queen of Arendelle.
If you're on your growth journey--signs and meaning to help you along the way are everywhere. The world is our enchanted forest, if we want it to be.
