From One Ice Princess to Another…Lessons from Frozen (Part One)

How many times have you seen the movie Frozen?
Better question…..How many times have you HEARD the movie Frozen?? (Haha! We get to hear the movies 1,000 times right?!)

The life and love lessons in this film are amazing! This is my all-time favorite Disney movie now!

Let’s begin….

Elsa, the oldest Princess in the kingdom is born under a “curse.”  She has the power to create ICE and SNOW.  Out of their fear that their daughters will be harmed because of what makes Elsa DIFFERENT in the world, her parents teach her to suppress her different-ness.

“Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know.”

Elsa spends her whole life in isolation trying to protect herself and her family from her ultimate fear…anyone finding out about her “Icy Powers.”

Her powers get stronger and stronger over time.  It gets harder and harder for her to suppress who she really is.

Then one day, Elsa’s worst fears come true and everyone finds out anyway.  The worst thing she could imagine happens.  Everyone finds out and she has to run!

A kingdom of isolation and it looks like I’m the queen.
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside.
Couldn’t keep it in, Heaven knows I tried.
Don’t let them in, don’t let them see. Be the good girl you always have to be.
Conceal don’t feel, don’t let them know.
Well, now they know!

Somewhere in the process of running, she realizes the FREEDOM that comes when you walk straight into the thing that you fear the most!

Watch….

It’s funny how some distance, makes everything seem small.
And the fears that once controlled me, can’t get to me at all
It’s time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through.
No right, no wrong, no rules for me. I’m free!

Very often in life, the very thing that we are most afraid of is the one thing that we MUST do!  Once you walk straight into it, you take away the power it had over you.  The fear that controlled you is gone.

And then of course she gets to experience the POWER of her GIFT.  She can do great things with her Icy Powers.  Sure, there’s risk in that power, but there’s also greatness.

Yes, her parents had the best of intention when they tried to help her be “the good girl” they thought she HAD TO be.

But it turns out they were wrong.  She has a gift.  A magical gift.  You watch her and you see the power of her most authentic self transform her as she OWNS herself completely!

She’s Free!

So, my darling, what if they were wrong?  With the best of intentions for YOU, what if they were wrong?

What if you didn’t HAVE to be that?  What if you truly could be your most authentic self, with all your unique gifts and powers that make you completely different than everyone Elsa?

Sure, maybe you don’t make snow come out of your hands.  😉

What is it for you?

Let me ask you this way.  Sweetie, what is the one part of yourself that you are most afraid of? The thing you will do the MOST to avoid?  What is the thing that you hide?  What’s the part of yourself that you deny? What would they never accept you to be?  What could you never be to get their love?

What’s your “Conceal, Don’t Feel, Don’t Let Them Know!”

And my darling, what if you… LET IT GO????

What if you walked straight into the fear and let it go?  How free would you be?  How much more energy would you have for life?  That part of you that you deny, the piece that you suppress, that’s YOUR POWER.  It may not be a Snow Making Magic power…but it’s YOUR power!

How do I know?

Because right now, at this very moment, YOU are the only YOU we have on this planet.  And you came here with certain unique gifts and abilities that no one else seems to have.  Just you!  We need those gifts in you…because you are the only YOU we have!

You see sweetie, it actually doesn’t do the world any good for you to try to be more like Tom, Susie or Jane…we already have one of them.  We need YOU to be YOU!

So, sweetie, what if you just LET IT GO! Stop hiding, stop trying to be something else, stop trying to be what they want you to be….LET IT GO!

Let it go, let it go.
And I’ll rise like the break of dawn.
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand, in the light of day
Let the storm rage on!
The cold never bothered me anyway.

The truth is..

“When you are true to yourself, people will love the truth in you” – Stacey Martino

Take it from THIS Ice Princess.  The thing I feared most….being my sunny, bubbly, warm, open, highly excitable, too loud and overly-loving self and getting crushed by people who wipe the floor with OPEN people like me.

So I spent my whole life trying to be more serious. My version of “Conceal don’t feel, don’t let them know” was being “The Ice Princess”, wearing black suits, white shirt, pony-tail and glasses; being quiet, not laughing, toughening up and being an achiever so people would take me seriously. I kept my bubbly, funny, bright, loud and sunshiny self kept locked up so they wouldn’t find out that was the real me.

Well guess what? One day it happened anyway.

And in the “well now it happened” moment for me, I decided to LET IT GO and walk straight into it.  And the Ice Princess became the Stacey you know today.  Turns out this whole “Lovie” thing worked out pretty good for me after all!

How about you my love?  What storm will you walk straight through?

Let me be the first person to tell you the truth in this moment….I am going to love you EVEN MORE when I can SEE you, the real YOU! And so will everyone else in your life who is WORTH loving my darling!

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because the people who MIND don’t MATTER, and the people who MATTER don’t MIND.” – Dr Suess

Sending love,

Stacey
“Former Ice Princess”

p.s. There are so many other moments in this incredible film that give us amazing lessons, including a HUGE lesson of what NOT to do. Be sure to check out next week’s blog for the next article in this Three Part Frozen Series!

*All rights to Frozen, the video, and movie content are owned by Disney.  Idina Menzel lyrics are property and copyright of their owners.