Life Lessons from Super Mario

Super Mario Brothers 

My five year old loves to play on our Wii, and one of his favorite games is Super Mario Bros®. I can't blame him: Super Mario was one of my favorite games as a kid, and that was waaaaayyyy back whenNintendo® first came out! 

Question: Who did you want to be: Mario or Luigi? I always had a soft side for Luigi...  

I was sitting and watching my son play one day (unlike other kids who may sit still while playing, my son actually moves around the room like he's Mario, smashing bricks and jumping over strange creatures...it's entertaining to see!), I couldn't help but think about the life lessons Super Mario could teach. 

Yep, you read that right. I learned something from a video game. Take that, Mom! Here are the life lessons I have learned from Super Mario:

Life Lessons from Super Mario

(Created by Mommy Knows What's Best using PicMonkey.com. )

1. Whatever is thrown at you, find a way to throw it back. Okay, so while Mario can't possibly catch everything (fireballs, etc..), he still can handle the hard stuff thrown at him along the way and dish it right back. Kinda sounds like a life lesson for a toddler, but I can relate. Life throws all kinds of stuff at us. We just have to find ways to be successful and throw it all right back so it doesn't keep us down. 
2. There is a way around every obstacle. Jump, double jump, fly, spin, climb, swim...there's a way out of every situation. You just need to look for the way around. Don't let anything get in your way!  
3. You don't need all of the coins to win/get the girl. You can power through a level by only touching a single coin and still move on to the next board. You don't need all the money in the world to keep moving forward or to impress anyone. 
4. Big or small, you can still power through any level. Size doesn't matter to Mario or Luigi. You can do everything as big Mario, but you can still get to the end of the board as small Mario. 
5. Special powers may help, but they don't make you invincible. You can have "freezy" or "fiery" powers (as my son calls them) but you can still lose your life. Having special abilities or talents or attributes doesn't make you invincible in life. A little humility goes a long way. 
6. Bullies have weaknesses too. Even bullies have weaknesses that can slow them down or make them fail. Don't let them stop you from moving on in life! 
7. Being loyal to friends helps you through life's toughest moments. There's times when I play along with my son as the Player 2. When you're trying to get through a level with two or more players, it's important to work together and stick together to reach a common goal. If you try to race ahead or do things your own way, things could get bad for you and your teammate! Staying true to your friends in life works the same way. 

They're simple life lessons, but they're still helpful to remember when times get tough. If Mario can do it, you can to! 

Answer this: Did you ever learn anything from a video game?  
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Marissa is a stay-at-home mom who writes pregnancy and parenting articles on HubPages as ThePracticalMommy, as well as shares her motherly escapades on Mommy Knows What's Best.