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Naruto Uzumaki is one such character in the world of anime who has influenced generations of anime fans. His story started off as an outcast child who had no one to fall back on, and he never let this adversity get to him.
While the Naruto series is known for having epic battles, one aspect that has left a lingering impact on the hearts of the viewers is the life lessons the main characters have taught us. That is why fans celebrate his birthday on 10th October every year in remembrance of a legendary character who has been a support system to those who needed a boost of motivation.
Although he is a fictional character, it is undeniable on a very real impact Naruto has left. In this article, we will focus on the 10 most memorable life lessons we learned from the protagonist himself.
List of 10 life lessons we learned from Naruto
1. Never give up, no matter how tough it gets
From the very first episode, where Naruto was not able to make a simple shadow clone, to an emotionally challenging battle between him and Pain(Nagato), he has proven that pushing through adversities will beat the odds.
Since his birth, he was shunned by everyone in his village for his existence, yet he continued to work harder than anyone and became the embodiment of his catch phrase
“I never go back on my word, that’s my nindo!”
It was because of his consistent nature and hard work that he managed to become the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village and change the preconception about him, and became someone that everyone loved and admired.
2. Your past doesn’t define you
Naruto was born as a vessel to the Nine-Tails (Kurama), and because of something he did not have a choice in, everyone ignored him. If he was not optimistic about hard work yielding results, there was a very real possibility of his letting the dark side consume him.
His character could have chosen to stay angry and bitter towards the village folk for not giving him attention and care; Instead, he took his bad situation and turned it around. The act of channeling pain into his greatest motivation reminds fans of the series that no matter how grim our origin stories may be, we are who we choose to become.
3. Believe in bonds; they give you strength
A turning point in Naruto's life came when he had a mentor like Iruka and friends like Sakura and Sasuke. Even when Sasuke tried to constantly push him out of his life, Naruto did not let that stop helping his friend because he knew that having a strong bond with someone is worth fighting for.
4. Empathy can change the world
Naruto has a lot of powerful and iconic jutsu, but arguably his strongest strength is his empathy. From understanding Gaara's loneliness or Nagato's pain, he has broken the cycle of hate with compassion. And the examples do not stop just yet, as he has changed the perception of everyone around him by doing one simple gesture.
That is to look at the good in others, even when the other person could not see it in them. Things like this sound like a small gesture, but again, it is important to note that even the smallest spark again reignite the light in darkness. This personality of his is infectious, and that is why in this series, even those who first seemed like dangerous threats ended up choosing to become allies.
5. Dreams are worth chasing, even if they seem impossible
It was established from the start of the series that Naruto wanted to become a Hokage. Everyone around him took it as a child's dream and laughed at him. They all thought he was doing this for attention.
While everyone took it lightly, he never stopped working towards achieving his goal. It was important for him, and he never took a break just because no one believed in him. The drive to achieve something so badly that he could not think of anything else became a force that pushed him to greatness.
This lesson taught fans that no goal is big or small, and once we make up our mind to achieve something, our hearts should never falter, especially by an external opinion.
6. Believe in yourself, even when no one else does
There is one flashback in the series that is iconic and well-known in the fandom. It is the swing where the main character used to sit by himself and look at others. That swing represented his loneliness and created a boundary between him and others.
He constantly tried to force himself into situations where others looked at him and tried to gain their attention. When he realised that no one was going to save him, the protagonist decided to believe in himself and his values.
7. Forgiveness is the path to true peace
In the series, the biggest act of kindness the protagonist could have done was to forgive everyone who was not good to him. The reason this is important is that no one can be their best self if their hearts hold grudges.
It is a lower energy emotion and would not only yield no positive result but also create obstacles in becoming our best selves. Naruto was self-aware of this fact and chose to just constantly forgive others and ensure that his growth as a ninja and an overall individual never stopped.
8. Endurance defines the true ninja way
Naruto never gave up, even when facing Kaguya; she seemed invincible, yet he teamed up and fought with everything he had. He never gave up on helping Sasuke, never gave up on his dreams, and never compromised on what he believed in.
His determination, even in the face of overwhelming odds, showed that true strength lies in perseverance. Sometimes in life, just not staying in the same place and moving out of our comfort zone becomes the matter for failure and success, and Naruto is the best example to learn from.
9. Pain can make you stronger only if you choose to grow from it
When Nagato brutally killed Jiraiya, the one teacher in his life who not only taught him essential ninja techniques but was also a father figure, our protagonist faced a level of grief that could not have been understood by anyone around him. But instead of letting the pain consume him, he channeled it and used it to transform himself and grow stronger.
It is difficult to think rationally when it feels like fate is conspiring against us. By gaining even a second worth of strength to move on from things that hurt us can stop from spiralling. Naruto might knowingly or unknowingly always grinding and fighting through pain.
10. Actions do speak louder than words
After everything, yes, his dreams were huge, and yes, he was empathetic and good, but if he had just kept dreaming and never worked on his goals, he would have become what everyone expected him to be: just someone who talks a lot.
It was because he backed everything up with action that everyone took him seriously. Not only that, he showed them all that he was not a failure. That is why the main lesson we learn is that we would never reach our goals if we don’t work on them.
Final thoughts
For many fans, the biggest takeaway from all of this is that Naruto’s ninja way was not always about winning the toughest battles; it was about believing in ourselves even when we feel like the odds are against us.
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Kishimoto has truly written a generational character as Naruto has something to teach fans of all age groups. Moreover, viewers get to learn something every time they watch the show, and while there are new shonen anime that are also equally nice, the anime community unanimously believes that this series should be given a watch at least once in a lifetime.
Indian fans can now watch Naruto Shippuden, premiering for the first time on Indian television from 13th October, every day at 9 PM, only on Sony YAY!
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