What 'Kung Fu Panda' Gets Shockingly Right About Becoming Good At Something!

We all remember our first job or the first time we tried something new. We’ve all thought, "I will never get better at this one thing no matter how hard I try. This thing must not be for me. I’m going to quit." An actor tries coding; a coder tries Shakespeare. An actor might think having a stutter means they should try something else. If someone is built like Michael Phelps, maybe they should be a swimmer. If someone is a big fat panda, they can’t possibly be the Dragon Warrior.

Kung Fu Panda quietly explains that adults don’t become good at things because they solely rely on talent. They become good because they stay long enough to stop being beginners. And whether you are a diamond in the rough or a caterpillar not knowing that you can become a butterfly, finding, working toward, and staying on the path toward your passion can be an incredible, fulfilling thing.

Thankfully, Po understands this in Kung Fu Panda; or. at least. he eventually does. When things get difficult, and when his dad, Mr. Ping, asks him what he was dreaming about, Po says, "Noodles."  This was monumental for his dad, as he thought his son "Finally had the noodle dream." But Po is lying because he wasn’t able to talk about what he really wants to do. Many people face this struggle of thinking they’ll never be anything more than who they are right now. They think: “What am I doing? Who do I think I am? Maybe I should just quit and go back to making noodles." And although it gets difficult for Po, and although these thoughts rage in his mind, he stays, and he doesn’t quit.

After Po laments to Master Oogway, "I probably sucked more today than anyone in the history of kung fu, in the history of China, in the history of sucking!", Oogway says, "Probably." But even after Oogway is gone, even after the Furious Five doubt him, and even after Shifu tries to get him to quit, Po stays.

The movie circles the question, "How long should we stay and fight for what we think we should be doing? And how do we know if it’s time to quit?" Tai Lung succeeded – at least in skill.  He got really strong, and he became incredible at kung fu. The same goes for the Furious Five as they all figure out what it is that they should be going after, and they go after it.

Po then represents someone who is lost in their journey, but he tries to find his way. And what he knows without searching is that he loves kung fu. What Po learns is that, in order to continue to grow, and in order to keep progressing, he must start with repetitive, constant, relentless practice and presence. He must continue to show up. So, Po trains. But when Shifu becomes his opponent, and he easily defeats Po, Po says, "A real warrior never quits. Don’t worry, master, I will never quit."

There’s a pivotal scene in the movie where Shifu and Oogway discuss Tai Lung returning, and Shifu tries to tell Oogway that the Panda is not the Dragon Warrior.  He says that he was never even meant to be here, that it was an accident. To which Oogway says, "There are no accidents." Oogway tells Shifu that the Panda will never become the Dragon Warrior unless Shifu can let go of the illusion of control. Oogway says that you may wish for an apple or an orange, but the peach tree will always give peaches. Shifu pleads for answers, and shouts "How?" Oogway makes him promise that Shifu must believe.

And this is representative of the entire ethos of what this movie is trying to teach, especially when it comes to people growing and becoming great at things. Shifu says he will try. Which, in this world, and in the world of becoming good at something, is often the hardest thing to do – to just believe and just to try. People who strive to be good at things often delay because they think a future, more confident version of themselves will be ready. They fail to realize that confidence is a side effect of repetition. Po doesn’t transform into someone else; he just continues to show up. When he wants to quit, and he says he’s not the Dragon Warrior, Shifu tells Po to trust and believe. So, when Po decides to try, although the training is hard and overwhelming, he says that nothing hurt more than every single day he was wasting "just being me."

Po finally earns his opportunity to read the legendary Dragon Scroll. He anxiously opens it to read… nothing. After a lot of self-doubt and imposter syndrome come rushing in, he realizes, thanks to his dad, that the so-called secret ingredient of his dad’s famous noodle soup, similar to the contents of the blank Dragon Scroll, is nothing. That there is "no secret ingredient." And, "To make something special, you just have to believe it’s special." 

And for a lot of people, especially young artists, or anyone trying to get good at something, this is crucial advice. They don’t launch themselves forward with fireworks, and they don’t even enter into the arena because they don’t feel ready. They don’t force themselves to learn through failure.

We are given chances every single day, and if something is calling us, we start moving toward it. We must trust and believe in ourselves. We must stay on the path, even when it gets hard. Young Hollywood centers on up-and-coming artists, and if they want to know what it takes to get good at something, look no further than Kung Fu Panda’s master class on living in the moment, fighting for what you want, and continuing to show up every single day. Because, "There is no secret ingredient."