7 Life Lessons We’ve Learned from ‘This Is Us’
When This Is Us premiered, no one knew the true impact it would make on viewers across the world. A series based on a couple who fell in love and from that love grew a family that is more resilient than they ever could have imagined. Their strength is matched only by their love and compassion, and we are inspired just watching it.
Of course, the characters aren’t real, but the actors and actresses brought parts of themselves to the people they portray and the Pearson family is as beautiful as it is because of every single one of them. The moments they experience together, the good times they celebrate and the bad times they endure – it has given an audience hope and strength of our own.
We’ve been rewatching the series and as we go through the episodes, we see lessons that we’ve learned – maybe without first realizing it – and those lessons have created something new in all of us.
We decided to pick up the phone and make that call first.
So, we’re big texters – we write, we email, we feel like we stay pretty connected, but This Is Us makes us pick up our phones and make phone calls. We reach out to family we’ve not spoken to in a while, friends who need more than a ‘how are you text’ and we get more engaged with the people we love. It’s nice to hear a familiar voice on the phone, so that’s what we do, we find the time now to touch base in a deeper way, and it matters.
We have those conversations we are hesitant to have.
Life isn’t easy, it’s not perfect, but it’s all we’ve got. We appreciate more, or at least – we’re more aware of being appreciative and we show it more – when we’ve got good people and good things in our lives. We also appreciate it when we can have the conversations that are hard. When we have to talk about struggles, addiction, pain, loss, and frustrations – we understand that they’re necessary and we take the time to make sure we can not only speak – but listen. Sometimes the words we want to hear most wouldn’t be the right ones and sometimes the words we want to say most wouldn’t be the best choice – it’s a process, but it’s worth it.
We aren’t always so serious.
We like to think that we enjoy having fun from time to time anyway, but we try to take ourselves less seriously. We dance around the kitchen while we bake, even if we aren’t the best at it. We keep up with birthday traditions, even if things change, we laugh and we sing and we celebrate and we acknowledge, on a deeper level, that it’s not just for the moment, it’s for the memory.
We love more – purely, honestly, and openly.
Jack Pearson loves Rebecca. He loves her in a way that we all wish to be loved. Rebecca loves Jack too, and it’s the kind of love that makes her stronger. Sometimes, it’s easy to put a guard up and keep people out, to keep your heart protected, but it’s not the way you get the ‘big’ love. We want that Rebecca and Jack story, and we want our kids to look at our love the way Kate, Randall, and Kevin look at the love of their parents too.
We also take pages out of Toby and Kate’s love story – we want to be the best versions of ourselves for our partners and we want to try new things together. We also want to encourage them to be the people they want to be. Kate and Toby have definitely hit their fair share of rough patches, but they’ve grown together and learned from them and it inspires us to do the same.
In looking at Randall and Beth’s love – we find ourselves having more patience. That’s a key part of their relationship. They also love one another unconditionally, even if they don’t exactly understand where the other is coming from in that moment. They understand that they’ve both been through things that have made them stronger but also that have tested that strength, and they love in a way that helps build trust.
Kevin’s love story makes us have hope in THAT happy ending too, the big one. His story is a testament to love that lasts and exists even when it’s not being cultivated. Kevin had to go through some things to realize who his heart belonged to, but once he did, he began striving to prove it to her. That’s the kind of love that means the most.
We forgive faster.
Life happens and people we love will hurt us. It’s inevitable. What we do have some say over is the degree to which we feel that hurt, and how quickly or efficiently we can move forward from it. We’re not saying we used to hold grudges or anything (but hey, we’re human) however, we do forgive quicker. You never know what tomorrow will bring, so… do we want to live like Jack and Rebecca now, do we want to build relationships with our families like Randall did with William while we have the time, or would we rather keep that pride intact? We’ve seen the stories unfold on television and we’ve seen versions in our real lives too – we aren’t promised tomorrow, so why not forgive now?
We go for it.
We say this openly because it applies to many aspects of our life. We make more choices to just go for it now. We chase our dreams, we fight for love, we do what we can (and then some) to make the lives of those around us better too. We just make it happen. Back to the previous sentiment, we aren’t promised tomorrow, so why not take every moment we have and live it? The show really highlights that in a way that’s a lot less ‘YOLO’ and a lot more real and sentimental.
We acknowledge the need for help.
In This Is Us, the characters try to face hard times alone, and they try to face hard times together. They struggle and try to hide it, but they end up realizing that if you need help and you not only accept that need but ask for that help, you end up better off. Since we’ve watched This Is Us, we’re more likely to ask for help when we need it. It’s noble, to a degree, to try to do it all yourself, but it’s human to need help along the way, and when you ask for help, you’re also given the opportunity to make new memories with people that you love. There’s nothing better than that.
We would like to say that we lived these lessons every day – even before we watched the show – but like we said, we’re human. Sometimes we still have trouble making sure we live the way we know that we should, but after watching the series, we try harder to be more human and to live in a way that allows us to truly be happy, to be part of something bigger than ourselves, and to believe in the power of love again.
What is your favorite memory from This Is Us? Let us know.
‘…but I knew him’
