It’s that time of year for glad tidings and great Christmas movies! This year, I rewatched a timeless classic, Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life. It’s one of those movies you can revisit again and again and still feel the emotions you felt at the first watch. Along with my thoughts, spoilers ahead!

Plot Summary

For those who still haven’t seen it, I’ll summarise the story for you. The protagonist, George Bailey, is one of those people who takes care of everyone around him – sometimes to his own detriment. He sacrifices his dreams for his family, and through no real fault of his own, is driven to consider (trigger warning!) taking his own life. The ending is happy though, with an angel showing him how wonderful his life really is, and his friends and family rallying around to save him. 

Alright, I think I did a pretty good job of summarising it without giving much away! 

My Thoughts

There are a few things that always come to mind when I watch this movie. 

Firstly, George is incredibly relatable to so many people who push through the challenges and hardships of life to help their loved ones and do the right thing.

The movie sincerely and smartly portrays how horrible it can feel to neglect your dreams, putting them on the backburner for the many many reasons we all have. So many of us do it. And it can feel incredibly frustrating.

Over time, we can forget why we’re making the sacrifices we do. We may resent having to make the choices we make, and no longer recall the reasons why we do what we do. It isn’t obvious that we positively impact others all the time; unfortunately, those grateful for our help may not always be good at expressing it.

Sometimes too, time gets away from us. As the famous saying goes, life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. And it can make us forget that we actually do matter in this vast universe.

Most importantly, we can forget to ask others for help as George Bailey did, though thankfully his wife Mary didn’t forget to reach out to their friends and family when they needed it most and ended up saving the day. (Mary is a true hero in this movie too btw!)

Key Takeaways

So, what are the key lessons I learned from this movie?

1. Life can be harder than it has to be if you go it alone.

Helping others is a wonderful act of service but it can be enormously draining in the process. Self-care and getting the help you need to get through the hardest days can make such a difference.

2. When caring for others, we should also remember to take care of ourselves.

Help yourself to be healthy and happy because this is the most sustainable version of yourself to keep helping your loved ones. 

3. You are important. You do matter.

As George finally learned, we should all pat ourselves on the back for doing our best and living the most wonderful life we can, even if it’s not what we planned or expected, and sometimes in the face of unexpected challenges. 

I hope that whomever reads this and is having a hard time finds some respite in a good book or movie or music, or time spent with friends and family, in God if you are religious, or simply some quality time spent by yourself to rest your mind and body.

Don’t forget that focusing on your needs is also you taking care of a loved one: yourself.

On that note, happy holidays to all and a soon-to-be Happy New Year too! 🥳