[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/03\/09\/lessons-from-wandavision\/#Article","articleBody":"\u201cIf Wanda is the problem, she has to be our solution.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s just one of the WandaVision quotes that\u2019ll hit you in the feels.\nImagine what you\u2019d pay corporate consultants to deliver you the above epiphany.\nYou don\u2019t have to be an MCU geek or even a comic book fan to gain infinity stone level insight from WandaVision. It\u2019s a 9 episode series steeped in oblivion, anguish, subterfuge, Easter eggs, pop culture, and redemption.\nWhy should you care? Because by reading some WandaVision quotes and spending some time inside WandaVision (without spoilers, I promise), you\u2019ll learn why self-reflection and awareness are key to growing \u2013 personally and professionally \u2013 and how to turn an awkward moment on its ear to great effect.\nIn other words, you can binge WandaVision in the name of professional development and personal growth.\nReady? With the speed of a Bewitched nose twitch, let\u2019s get going.\nLesson 1: When things go off the rails, you have everything you need to recover\nWanda has an apron and perfectly coifed hair, but when it comes time to play the happy hostess to her husband\u2019s boss, the cupboards are bare. (And she\u2019s also woefully underdressed.) Vision, her husband, plays those things off as tradition in her home country in a moment of quick thinking. A laugh, a wink, and a bit of improvising, and she\u2019s off to make finger foods.\nThere isn\u2019t a person among us who hasn\u2019t shown up to an event overdressed or underprepared. It\u2019s agony at the moment, but it\u2019s just that\u2014a moment. You hold your chin high, rock your denim or silk, and plow forward.\nWanda and Vision try to fit in by participating in a magic show to raise money for local kids. Seeing as they both have powers that could be defined as magical, the hijinks come off as comedy as they try to make their magic not seem real.\nLesson 2: If fitting in means suppressing your talents, you\u2019re in the wrong room\nDon\u2019t be misled into thinking that what you\u2019re great at isn\u2019t essential. You can translate skills to another discipline and learn new things, but hold tight to what comes to you naturally, no matter how threatened, confused, or annoyed other people are by it.\nA scene in which a character is guided back to moments in the past and told, \u201cThe only way forward is back,\u201d underscores that each step in our personal journeys makes us where we are today. Each memory brings new context to what\u2019s happening in and around Wanda.\nLesson 3: Understanding where we\u2019re from is essential to moving forward with purpose + confidence\nAs we operate in an increasingly digital and touchless reality, consider what hasn\u2019t worked, what has, and beyond that, the opportunities to carry forward things that may be better suited to today than previous experiences.\nNothing captures the March 2020 vs March 2021 meme like #WandaVision. pic.twitter.com\/js5kBUyo8h\n\u2014 Jamie Jirak (@JamieCinematics) March 1, 2021\nLesson 4: A year can damn near break you\nThe journey from March of 2020 to March of 2021 was a doozy. We\u2019re changed; maybe you\u2019ve stopped wearing shoes as you work from home, or you no longer color your hair. You\u2019ve probably also shifted how you prioritize things\u2014in-person meetings aren\u2019t necessary; the traditional 9-5 feels outdated.\nYou can \u2013 and should \u2013 look and feel different after what you\u2019ve lived through, but it doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re broken.\nWandaVision has a plethora of hat tips to different eras, with each moment highly orchestrated to deliver lessons long after the series ends. Even the commercials they broadcast are poignant \u2013 there\u2019s an element of poking fun and brutal truth.\nFor example, the Nexus ad warns of side effects that include: Feeling your feelings, confronting your truths, and seizing your destiny \u201cBecause the world doesn\u2019t revolve around you\u2026or does it?\u201d\n\u00a0\nLesson 5: Sometimes, those commercials you mock are dead-on\nEveryone is the protagonist of their own story (well, most people), but that doesn\u2019t mean that other people, perspectives, or realities don\u2019t exist.\nTake a minute to think about how you see things, then put yourself in someone else\u2019s shoes.\nDoes your inability to get a to-go order as fast as you used to seem infuriating when you think about the pressure of delivering more orders with more obstacles and less staff to more customers with less patience?\nLesson 6: Fear isn\u2019t reserved for the weak\nWe\u2019re conditioned to outgrow the fear of things that go bump in the night. As professionals, we\u2019re supposed to employ logic and reason, but does that mean there\u2019s no room for fear? Absolutely not.\nBeing scared can be an incredible instrument of intuition. Don\u2019t ignore those times when you feel the tickle of a warning. The knowledge that comes from digging into the root of the fear can shed light on both your obstacles and opportunities.\nJimmy Woo is us watching #WandaVision pic.twitter.com\/dN0ctssAIy\n\u2014 Geeks of Color #BlackLivesMatter (@GeeksOfColor) January 31, 2021\nLesson 7: Understanding is a verb\nThis one is very straightforward, yet most of us fail to remember it.\nThe people who look like they have it all figured out have worked hard to get to where they are\u2014they research and really toil to find meaning, answers, satisfaction. If you can get to a place where you respect that process, you\u2019ll find your endurance for pursuing solutions grows exponentially.\nLesson 8: \u201cI\u2019m fine\u201d is almost always a lie.\nI mean, you knew this, right? Maybe we can take this pearl from WandaVision and start living it.\nThe next time someone asks how you\u2019re doing, consider answering honestly.\nLet\u2019s practice:\n\u201cHow are you?\u201d\n\u201cBeat.\u201d\n\u201cSo-so.\u201d\n\u201cFully comprehending the quiet terror of being alive.\u201d\nAll of these are options instead of saying all is well \u2013 we can\u2019t be rooted in reality if we refuse to acknowledge it.\nSee where it goes.\nAs a character in WandaVision said: \u201cThe worst thing I can think of has already happened to me, and I can\u2019t change it. I can\u2019t undo it. I can\u2019t control this pain anymore. And I don\u2019t think I want to because it\u2019s my truth.\u201d\nLesson 9: Our actions and emotions have consequences\nThe division of work and home has blurred for many of us; our dining rooms have become offices, our children veritable co-workers, and our pets moving scenery during Zoom or Teams meetings. Things happening to us outside of work have always been an influence; we just haven\u2019t normalized talking about them \u2013 yet.\nWandaVision shows the ripples effects of grief, not unlike It\u2019s a Wonderful Life showing the \u201cwhat if\u201d scenario. It becomes clear that having a stiff upper lip won\u2019t create an effective barrier to our emotions. And, on the bright side, the potential to take our pain and use it to influence how we conduct ourselves always exists.\nWe are everything that we\u2019ve endured, and recognizing that can make us stronger, as well as offer insights to a range of scenarios.\nWhether it\u2019s the Marvel Comic Universe or our own, the world has infinite characters with storylines that overlap, contradict, and evolve.\nWhat\u2019s a person to do?\nTake what you know today, integrate the tools and knowledge you have available, and move toward writing the story to balance contentment, goodwill, and teamwork. You might just find magic along the way.\nHR, better. Employees, happier. Businesses, healthier. It\u2019s time to modernize the employee experience.","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/03\/09\/lessons-from-wandavision\/#Article_Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/03\/09\/lessons-from-wandavision\/#Article_Person_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Amanda-Magee-150x150.jpg"},"name":"Amanda Magee","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/AmandaMagee","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/amandamagee\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/amanda-magee\/"},"dateModified":"2021-04-09T04:32:32+00:00","datePublished":"2021-03-09T08:01:02+00:00","description":"WandaVision quotes underscoring that the world, whether Marvel Comic Universe or our own, has infinite characters with storylines that overlap, contradict, and evolve.","headline":"The problem is the solution: WandaVision quotes and lessons","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/03\/09\/lessons-from-wandavision\/#Article_ImageObject","height":"630","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/CDP011_Wandavision_HB-1200x630.jpg","width":"1200"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/03\/09\/lessons-from-wandavision\/","name":"The problem is the solution: WandaVision quotes and lessons","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/","additionalType":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1193236","description":"Relevant, timely information & analysis on commerce trends, both consumer-facing and B2B.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","height":"96","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","width":"500"},"name":"The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/a-call-for-a-better-experience\/id1479742201","https:\/\/twitter.com\/FutureOfCEC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/4844282","https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/feed\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/"},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/03\/09\/lessons-from-wandavision\/#Article"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"03","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/03\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"09","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/03\/\/09\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The problem is the solution: WandaVision quotes and lessons","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/03\/09\/lessons-from-wandavision\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]