4 Personal Growth Insights from the Film, Apocalypto

Although the film Apocalypto is gory in a primal way, there were some personal development aspects that I picked up on. This may seem like the most unlikely sort of film for personal growth messages but the main character, Jaguar Paw, shows the way. 

There's a part in the film where Jaguar Paw is running from his captors. He's just witnessed his brother being killed by the same men who now chase him through the jungle.

As a part of their sadistic game, the captors give him a head start. Much to their dismay and eventual bad fortune, this proves to be fatal. They should have killed him when they had the chance. 

Jaguar Paw knows the way of the jungle intimately. He's been hunting in the forest since he was a little boy. He was taught everything he knows by the great hunters that went before him, specifically by his father Flint Sky. 

As a hunter his knowledge of every detail of the forest and the ecosystem as a whole gives him that much more advantage for survival and success. He uses this vast knowledge to outthink and outfox his captors. His life depends on this intimate knowledge. 

Shifting his mindset from the hunted to the hunter, he makes blow darts tipped with poisonous frog venom, darting men in their necks from a hideout. He navigates the jungle expertly so his captors become disorientated, falling prey to snake bites and traps. 

Besides his intimate knowledge of the forest, Jaguar Paw's strength lies in his speed and agility. He runs stealthily through the dense jungle coming face to face with a black Jaguar. Startled, but not transfixed, he bounds back towards his enemy, leading the Jaguar into their path. 

He outruns his final captor to the shore line, into the hands of the colonialists whose ships have just been beached there. Then he turns and runs back to his wife and 2 babies who he hid in a massive hole in the ground at the time his village was attacked. 

What 4 things did Jaguar Paw use to get back to the safety of his family? 

Skills - the hunting skills he developed under the tutelage of his mentors.  

Knowledge - intimate knowledge of his context, being the jungle and they way it works. 

Consciousness - he never panicked. Sure, he ran, but that was part of his unique talent. He stayed calm and focused under life or death circumstances. 

Belief - never once did he doubt his ability to escape trouble. Mainly due to the alignment of skills, knowledge and consciousness. 

Do you use any of these 4 concepts to overcome challenges in life or business?