What we can learn from Pinocchio

The 85-year-old animated Disney film still offers life lessons today.

Have you woken up and made plans for the day, only to have those plans completely changed soon after getting out of bed? Perhaps, for some, the question should be asked this way: When is the last time your plans for the day haven’t completely changed after getting out of bed?

The 1940 Disney animated film “Pinocchio” follows the adventures of a wooden puppet named Pinocchio, who is brought to life by a fairy after his creator, the woodcarver Geppetto, wishes for him to become a real boy.

On Pinocchio’s very first day in the outside world, Geppetto sends him happily on his way to school; however, while walking to class, a devious fox named Honest John and his dim-witted cat sidekick named Gideon, notice Pinocchio for his uniqueness and potential monetary value. Honest John tricks Pinocchio into joining Stromboli's puppet show instead of going to school, and the rest of the story unfolds.

What we see in Pinocchio’s attempt to go to school is distraction and temptation. He had only one plan for the day, and while he was excited about the plan of going to school for the first time, Pinocchio still got sidetracked by his brand-new experience: life. He became distracted from his plan after being tempted by what he saw in the fox’s alternative plan.

We, too, become distracted and tempted by what we see early in the morning, before we have a chance to begin our plans. How many of you immediately check your phone for notifications or scroll your social media timelines before you even get out of bed in the morning? I know I am guilty of it.

We are inundated by self-inflicted distractions and temptations that we see on our phone and television screens. Much like the devious fox, social media companies see our uniqueness and potential monetary value, and all we get out of the deal is a trail of broken plans, relationships, and souls.

Are you ready to fight back against distractions and temptations by getting out of bed and not checking your screens until later in the day? Recently, I went into my iPhone and found the “Downtime” option within the “Screen Time” settings. You will find many ways to limit which apps can be used during different times of the day.

After going through numerous adventures, learning lessons the hard way, and proving himself to be brave, truthful, and unselfish, Pinocchio finally attends school in the final scene of the film—as a real boy.

Most major achievements—or progress—in life start out as small little achievements, so small that sometimes we don’t even know that we’re achieving anything at all.

It’s never not too late to take small steps toward achieving goals for the rest of your life. First small steps: Create downtime from your phone and put on paper what you want to achieve.

We are the opening verse of the opening page of the chapter of endless possibilities.
—Rudyard Kipling