Forrest Gump shares many life lessons throughout his journey. Some of the key lessons are to embrace what life gives you and make the most of each day. Another lesson is to focus on the people and things you're passionate about to stay motivated. Forrest also teaches that it's important to be your best self and use the talents you have. His mother also stresses that miracles happen every day, we just sometimes fail to notice them.

1. Forrest Gump’sForrest Gump’s
Life LessonsLife Lessons

2. ““Life is like a box of chocolates. You neverLife is like a box of chocolates. You never
know what you’re gonna get.”know what you’re gonna get.”
Having the ability to adapt to whatever comes your way is something that will always serve you well.
Be open to possibility and who knows what you might find.

3. ““I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floatingI don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floating
around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it’saround accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it’s
both.both.
Maybe both is happening at the same time.” Maybe both is happening at the same time.”
Everyday, life is made bearable by the people and things that we are passionate about. May it be our better
halves, our family, our work, God, or the creative endeavors that he lets us have, these ‘fuel’ should serve as
a guide for how we can follow our dreams and a map for how we can achieve them.

4. "There's only so much fortune one man needs,"There's only so much fortune one man needs,
the rest is just showing off." the rest is just showing off."
Keep what’s serving you, and let go of what is not.

5. ““Mama always had a way of explaining thingsMama always had a way of explaining things
so I could understand them.”so I could understand them.”
Explaining things to people so that they can understand them is a gift. It means taking time
to understand first to then be understood. Mama Gump had it right.

6. ““Mama says they was magic shoes. They couldMama says they was magic shoes. They could
take me anywhere.”take me anywhere.”
Forrest Gump did go anywhere because he believed he could. Are you limiting yourself? Find
your magic shoes. Go, run, what you believe you can achieve.

7. ““Run Forrest, Run!” Run Forrest, Run!”
Those who love us are good at pointing out our strengths. They may take
you far - like across the country.

8. ““You have toYou have to
do the bestdo the best
with what Godwith what God
gave you.”gave you.”
It starts with knowing yourself, then
striving to sharpen and hone yourself.
We all have God given talents. Use
yours. It’s simple, be your best.

9. ““So I started playing it all the time. I played ping-pongSo I started playing it all the time. I played ping-pong
even when I didn't have anyone to play ping-pong with.even when I didn't have anyone to play ping-pong with.
I played ping-pong so much, I even played it in my sleep.”I played ping-pong so much, I even played it in my sleep.”
Come on. Let me show you. Now the secret to this game is, no matter what happens, never,
ever take your eye off the ball. Focus on what you are doing!!!

10. Forrest Gump : What’s my destiny, Mama?Forrest Gump : What’s my destiny, Mama?
Mrs. GumpMrs. Gump : You’re gonna have to figure that out for: You’re gonna have to figure that out for
yourself.yourself.
You define your destiny. It is about being in touch with what you love. It is about being your
best. This is your life. Stand. Take a stand for who you chose to be. You define your destiny.

11. "Bubba was my best good friend, and even I"Bubba was my best good friend, and even I
know you can't just find that around the corner."know you can't just find that around the corner."
Be loyal to your friends. Love unconditionally.

12. Forrest Gump : If I’d a known that was the last time I was gonnaForrest Gump : If I’d a known that was the last time I was gonna
talk to Bubba, I would of thought of something better to say.talk to Bubba, I would of thought of something better to say.
Forrest Gump : Hi Bubba.Forrest Gump : Hi Bubba.
Bubba : Hey ForrestBubba : Hey Forrest
Don’t let those little moments pass by – you never know what kind of lasting influence you
will have. Say what needs to be said exactly when you need to say it.

13. ““The good part about being shot in the buttocks wasThe good part about being shot in the buttocks was
the ice cream,” Forrest said. “They gave me all the icethe ice cream,” Forrest said. “They gave me all the ice
cream I could eat.”cream I could eat.”
Sometimes the best thing that you can do is not think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess.
Just breath, and have faith that everything will work out for the best.

14. ““Mama always said, dying was a part of life. IMama always said, dying was a part of life. I
sure wish it wasn’t.”sure wish it wasn’t.”
Yet life has a way of coming back to us if we know what love is, be our best, and believe. Do
not let heart-break or tragedy take your life. We all have tragedy to overcome, you can too.

15. Forrest Gump: [running] I had run for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days,Forrest Gump: [running] I had run for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days,
and 16 hours. [he stops and turns around]and 16 hours. [he stops and turns around]
Young Man Running: Quiet, quiet! He’s gonna say something!Young Man Running: Quiet, quiet! He’s gonna say something!
Forrest Gump: [pause] I’m pretty tired… I think I’ll go home now.Forrest Gump: [pause] I’m pretty tired… I think I’ll go home now.
No one should be following me… And we also should not be following anyone else. The
answers my friend are not blowing in the wind they are simply inside, on the heart path.

16. ““For no particularFor no particular
reason, I just keptreason, I just kept
on going….I juston going….I just
felt like running.”felt like running.”
Trust yourself; it always leads you to
where you need to be. Have you ever
wanted to do something that made no
sense to others, but made perfect sense
to you? Do it. You’ll never regret it!!!

17. Forrest tells him he is still the same man. Never forget how special you are. He doesn’t think any
less
of Lieutenant Dan for losing his legs, and neither should he. Your outward circumstances may
Lieutenant Dan : This wasn’t supposed to happen. NotLieutenant Dan : This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not
to me. I had a destiny. I was Lieutenant Dan Tyler.to me. I had a destiny. I was Lieutenant Dan Tyler.
Forrest Gump : Yo-You’re still Lieutenant DanForrest Gump : Yo-You’re still Lieutenant Dan

18. "Why don't you love me, Jenny? I'm not a smart"Why don't you love me, Jenny? I'm not a smart
man... but I know what love is."man... but I know what love is."
Find inside yourself what you love. Then Cherish it for all you are worth. Because do you know
what? It is all that you’re worth.

19. ““And cause I was a gazillionaire, and I likedAnd cause I was a gazillionaire, and I liked
doin it so much, I cut that grass for free.”doin it so much, I cut that grass for free.”
Be in touch with what you love then strive to be your best. I think you’ll find them
coming together.

20. ““Now you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, butNow you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but
I could run like the wind blows. From that dayI could run like the wind blows. From that day
on, if I was going somewhere, I was running!”on, if I was going somewhere, I was running!”
If you need to clear your head, go for a run. That particular run comes from his personal
heartbreak after he asks Jenny to marry him, she declines, though comes into his room to make
love to him, only to disappear in the morning.

21. “ “Sometimes, I guess, there just aren’tSometimes, I guess, there just aren’t
enough rocks.”enough rocks.”
Never forget where you came from, and how you got where you are today. If you do not use the
experiences in your life, if you choose to ignore them instead, how will you ever learn a lesson?

22. Jenny Curran: "His name's Forrest."Jenny Curran: "His name's Forrest."
Forrest Gump: "Like me."Forrest Gump: "Like me."
Jenny Curran: "I named him after his daddy."Jenny Curran: "I named him after his daddy."
Forrest Gump: "He got a daddy named Forrest,Forrest Gump: "He got a daddy named Forrest,
too?"too?"
Jenny Curran: "You're his daddy, Forrest.”Jenny Curran: "You're his daddy, Forrest.”
After Jenny passed away, Forrest took care
of his son, reading with him every night and
preparing his lunch for school. Like his
mother before him, Forrest would do
anything to make a good home for his child.

23. Dying is a part of life– “I sure wish it wasn’t”Dying is a part of life– “I sure wish it wasn’t”
Never say never.
Jenny asks Forrest, while sitting on a park bench, to marry her. Though she has contracted the
AIDS virus, and eventually tragically passes away at an incredibly young age, she ends her life
with the man who has always loved her, and who I believe she has always loved right back.

24. ““Stupid isStupid is
as stupidas stupid
does.”does.”
You words mean little to nothing if
your actions do not align. Stupid is
as stupid does. Brave is as brave
does. Your actions always speak
louder than your words.

25. ““My momma always said that miracles happen everyday,My momma always said that miracles happen everyday,
Some people don’t think so, but they do.”Some people don’t think so, but they do.”
It is so important to take time to stop and “smell the roses”; to recognize the beauty in the minutiae
of everyday details. Otherwise, it becomes all too easy to be dragged down when things don’t go as
well as we’d hope.

26. Forrest waits with Forrest Jr. for the bus
to pick him up for his first day of school,
and sits on the same tree stump where his
mother sat on his first day of school, and
watches his feather bookmark float off in
the wind.
““Don’t be a featherDon’t be a feather
in the wind, takein the wind, take
ownership ofownership of
your life.”your life.”
Thank You Very MuchThank You Very Much
Sompong YusoontornSompong Yusoontorn