The wisdom of Pa Kent
Here’s a quote that I recently pinned above my desk at work:
Your choices, Clark. Your actions. That’s what makes you who you are.
These are the words that Jonathan Kent (or Pa Kent) says to Clark Kent when he is at his lowest in Superman (2025). Beaten down and cast aside, Superman comes back home to nurse his wounds. It’s then, when his faith in himself is at an all-time low, having discovered that the legacy of his parents is not what he thought it was, that Pa Kent speaks to him.
This quote is more than just a pep-talk before a big fight scene. It is also a reminder that no matter what we’ve experienced in our lives, we get to choose.
We get to choose our values.
We get to choose our thoughts.
We get to choose our actions.
And with all these, we get to shape our lives.
I think the Stoics would approve because one of their main things is that your actions can be determined by your values rather than be dictated by your circumstances.
This is not to say that it’s easy to make the right choice. There are many, many times where I neither chose right or acted right. And I’m sure there’ll be many more of those.
But with each day, you and I get to choose again. We get to try again. We get grow again.
That’s what makes us who we are.
This is