Forrest looks over Lieutenant Dan during his darkest days.

I ended my previous blog with this question; “Do you think maybe the reason Forrest Gump was so content was because he understood his own core values and lived life in harmony with them?” Let’s dig deeper and contrast Forrest’s way of living with the life that others lived – specifically Lt. Dan. In contrasting these characters, we’ll see a perfect example of a person living contentedly because he was living life consistent with his core values, as well as a man who was unhappy and struggling as he lived in conflict with (or out of touch with) his core values.

Forrest was generally happy throughout most of his life. Of course he experienced sadness and disappointment, even tragedy and loss; but you always sensed that at the end of the day, he was content within himself. He understood who he was, his capabilities and limitations, and did his best every day.

Lt. Dan on the other hand, was happy when he was commanding his troops but collapsed into depression and misery after personal tragedy; we sense that he is conflicted, angry and disconnected for a large part of his life after losing his legs and suffering the death of his men.

Is it possible that the source of happiness vs. unhappiness is a direct result of living a life that is either in harmony with or in conflict with core values? I say yes.

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