For centuries, children have fallen in love with Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It’s a story that has it all: fun characters, a brave heroine and a world where anything can happen.
However, what most people don’t realise is that Alice in Wonderland (both the novel and the film by Disney) can teach us a lot of profound life lessons. Yes, really.
At certain times in our life we all feel like we’ve fallen down the rabbit hole or played a round of croquet with the evil Queen of Hearts. If you’ve ever thought that Alice in Wonderland was a story that you couldn’t relate to, think again.
Here are the major life lessons that we’ve learned from Alice and her stint in Wonderland…
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When Alice gets lost she asks the Cheshire Cat for directions
Life Lesson #1: Just where are you going in life?
In the book, Alice has a conversation with the Cheshire Cat about where she wants to go. Alice asks the cat for directions in Wonderland and he responds by telling her that if she doesn’t know where she wants to go, she could end up anywhere at all.
So do you know where you’re going? Do you have a goal that you’re striving towards or is your life lacking direction? Don’t spend your time simply wandering through your life aimlessly like Alice, instead find your passion, find your path and start walking it.
What do you do that stops you from achieving your dreams?
Life Lesson #2: Stop wasting your own time
When Alice meets the Red Queen, the Queen tells her that it takes a lot of running to stay in the same place. So what do you do that wastes your own time? What habits or behaviours do you keep doing that are stopping you from achieving your goals.
Let’s be honest, having goals and big dreams can be scary and sometimes it feels so much easier to stay right where you are and keep doing what you’ve been doing. But staying where you are means that things will never change. When you have something that you want to achieve, it’s worth sitting down and looking at the ways in which you could be thwarting yourself and looking at how you can let go of these time-wasting habits.
In Alice in Wonderland flowers can sing and the impossible can happen
Life Lesson #3: Believe in the impossibe
Possibly one of the most famous exhanges between characters in Alice in Wonderland is the following:
“‘There’s no use in trying,’ Alice said, ‘one can’t believe impossible things.’ ‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for a half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’”
How many times have you convinced yourself that something is impossible before you even try it? How many times have you given up on a dream because you were so sure you wouldn’t achieve it?
We have to become more like the Queen when it comes to life. We have to believe in ourselves, in our ability and truly believe that we can make anything happen for ourselves. No matter how big your dreams are, you can make it happen. You just need to put in the work and believe in yourself. Fact.
Do you know who you really are?
Life Lesson #4: Finding out who you are is everything
Throughout Alice in Wonderland, Alice continually questions who she is. She wonders if she “changed in the night” or if she was the same when she woke up in the morning. Every so often, it’s worth asking yourself the same kind of questions. Who are you? What makes you happy? What makes you sad? What are your passions?
There’s only one thing you can be in this life and that’s yourself. So figure out what makes you who you are and get comfortable in your own skin. One of the oldest spiritual beliefs in the world is that if you know yourself, you’ll know the way. Once you find out what your hopes and dreams are, you’ll be able to guide yourself out of Wonderland and into a happier, more fulfilled existence.
