10 Lessons on Finding Inner Peace from Martial Arts Movies

'Kung Fu Panda' (2008): Believe in Yourself

In real life, pandas are a pretty good argument against evolution. They eat just one type of rare bamboo, give birth to just one cub at a time (which then monopolizes the parent's attention something awful), and blend in as well with their green surroundings as much as Lady Gaga would at the Daytona 500. Charles Darwin, had he seen a panda, might have tossed out his evolutionary theory and become a Southern Baptist.

Even in the anthropomorphic China of  "Kung Fu Panda," pandas don't come across as contenders for "survival of the fittest" honors. Take Po—the rotund, adopted son of a noodle chef. So how, then, does Po gets mistaken for the legendary "Dragon Warrior"? Why in the heck does he become the guy to learn the secrets of the fabled Dragon Scroll, said to bequeath unlimited powers on those who read it?

Po himself would shrug his shoulders at these sorts of questions—just as we all would if we were given tasks that seemed far beyond our abilities. Almost all of us, like Po, tend to sell ourselves a little short.

But once Po saw the Dragon Scroll, it all came together for him. The scroll itself was blank: Po didn't need any secret wisdom to become the valley's awaited defender. He simply needed to believe in himself.

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