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5 Life Lessons from the Tournament of Power

'Dragon Ball' is owned by Toei Animation, Ltd. and Licensed by FUNimation Productions, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

By D.C MemoirPublished 6 years ago 9 min read
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Before we begin, *takes deep breath* all images are owned by 'Dragon Ball.' Dragon Ball is owned by Toei Animation, Ltd. and licensed by FUNimation Productions, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Now to your regularly scheduled article.

In my truest beliefs, “There is nothing you can’t learn from.” Yes, that is a double negative, but nonetheless I like it better than, “You can learn from anything.” Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power was an amazing event. Starting last June and ending this past Sunday. In all this time there has to have been some lessons we can learn right? Of course.

These are the five life lessons I learned from the Tournament of Power. And please feel free to view this article on my Medium later and comment your life lessons from the Tournament. But without further ado…

1. Use your word to fuel your growth.

Vegeta and his mentee, Cabba, from Universe 6.

Now for those of us who are fans of The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, we know that we should be impeccable with our words. No one showed that more during the Tournament than Vegeta. Throughout Dragon Ball Super, not only do we see Vegeta take on the role of a mentor, we see him take a bond to Cabba unlike anyone, even his son. There is no “Prince of Saiyans” on Universe 6 to uphold their undying pride, and even though Cabba told Vegeta about King Sadala, Vegeta still looks to build that character within Cabba. In the end, Vegeta promises to bring Cabba back by winning this Tournament, and with that, he spoke into existence, for all to know, what he set out to do.

In what seems to be Vegeta’s final moments against Toppo, we see Vegeta find power in his promises. His promises to return to his family, his promise to Cabba, his promise to himself. In the end, this pushes Vegeta to surpass his limits again and reach his final Blue form. There were no fears or hesitations in his movements this time. It didn’t phase him that he was fighting a God of Destruction. If he had to do the impossible and use his energy to break through the God of Destruction energy, he would, and he did.

Our words work the same way. Our chances of completing a goal increase 42 percent when they are written down. Why? Without a goal, we simply focus on whatever obstacle stands immediately before us. The current issue. The present annoyances. Instead, see the finish line and move towards it. Every weight dropped on you doesn’t matter because it doesn’t even distract you. You know every obstacle is necessary growth to reach where you want to be because turning back is not an option. Make your word bond. And promise to do nothing less than amaze.

2. Live and let live.

Jiren meditating in the middle of all our warfare.

This next one has to do specifically with Jiren and Goku. The characters had a special dynamic which showed how similar paths can be done so differently. It was tough watching the battle between Jiren and Goku. We know both characters trained their whole life with the intent of being the strongest. But simply put, the difference is Jiren gave his life for these moments, whereas Goku lived his life for these moments. Here’s why that difference is so important.

To give your life for a cause you sacrifice. You sacrifice friends, you sacrifice emotions, you sacrifice what makes life truly enjoyable. It is a dark path, not in a sense of evil, but because it’s only as bright as you have the ability to make it. It feels like the path of light though. It feels like the most noble and honorable path. That what we see from Jiren, and those who looked up to Jiren. And speaking from experience that’s how it felt for myself. But that story is for another time…maybe Medium.

Back to the topic. So what does it mean to live for this moment? In Episode 130, Krillin speaks to Goku’s ability to pull people in. To turn enemies to comrades and gain faith from all those around him. Goku earns this faith because from a young age they’ve seen Goku live out his ideals. To train, to grow, to be the very best that no one ever was…wrong show, but you get the point. Goku lived his life with so much passion for growing strong that he found himself surrounded by people who either wanted to do the same or wanted to help him see his growth through. As spoken in The Hollywood Commandments, set your life on fire and surround yourself with only those who fan your flame.

In the end, Jiren may have been just as strong as Goku, but Jiren cannot say he had friends, family, and lifelong memories to bring meaning to his life along the way. No, we cannot have it all, but next time you find yourself obsessing over progress ask yourself, “Am I giving my life, or living my life, for this?”

3. Strip, do not shed.

God of Destruction, Toppo, taking on Vegeta.

I contemplated including this with the last one but felt it needed to be mentioned separately. We saw many people come to near defeat. In it, there were many ways to deal with it, but ultimately it came down to stripping vs. shedding. As an example with Toppo and Vegeta, when both came down to staring defeat in its eyes, they came to two varying conclusions. Toppo decided that justice, what he preached of since we first met his character, was no longer suitable for his methodology, stripping his core character to try to surpass his limits. Meanwhile, Vegeta is seen doubling down and, as mentioned, holding to his promises to surpass his limits. Vegeta strips. He strips away his fatigue, his pain, his fear of Toppo’s new form and power, and decides to hold to his core.

“What good is it to gain the world, but lose yourself?” The Tournament of Power is this message pushed to its extent. Would you rather lose and see your universe be destroyed with pride? Or throw away the principles that have built you to live another day? Universe 3 decided to leave with pride. They fought holding tight to love as their principle until the last second, and when it was their turn to be destroyed they, and their whole universe, was content, knowing their warriors fought true to who they were.

4. Do not seek destruction/handle your obstacles as they come to you.

Gohan helping Goku and Vegeta against Universe 3's robo-warriors.

At the beginning of the Tournament, we saw a slew of characters get thrown out quickly, universes destroyed, and hopes crushed. What did those universes have in common? Well, for the most part, they all were the first to attack other universes, namely Universe 7. Blaming Goku for their universe facing destruction they decided to take their anger out on his universe. But as the Buddhist Sutra says, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” And just as spoken, their universe got burned. Sure, some of the coal thrown did damage and Universe 7 lost some members along the way, but in the end, most of the damage was done to those playing seek and destroy.

On the flip side, Universe 7 had a lesson in the way they responded. In life, it's important that we handle our obstacles as they approach. That is not to say that we are not always to be prepared, in this case with Gohan’s masterful plan, but we cannot be drawn to all we know is impending. Of course, Universe 7 knew they were the grand target of the Tournament, but if they allowed themselves to be overcome with trying to analyze, predict, and combat every enemy from the beginning, they would’ve passed out from stress. Instead, they handle them one by one. Analyze the opponent in front of you and create your in-depth plan on how you can defeat them. Next month is next month, next year is next year, give attention to what needs attention. Life is too much to handle…if you were to look at it all at once. The same way fighting 15 of the multiverses strongest opponents in 48 minutes for Goku is too much to handle. But fight when it’s time to fight, rest when you get a chance to rest, now is Bergamo, now is Kefla, you won’t even make it to Jiren if you waste energy focusing on him now.

5. It all comes together, just never how you expect (finale spoilers below!)

Super Sheron's light over Jiren and Universe 11.

If at the beginning of the Tournament of Power anyone said that Andriod 17 was going to be the victor, they would’ve been met with looks similar to this.

Did we expect Universe 7 to win? Depends on when you ask because when I heard the show may possibly come to an end I was sure it was because Jiren was going to be handing out L's to the whole universe. But nevertheless, Zeno saw how it all would end, kind of. In the end, the Grand Priest spoke that Zeno expected that with his or her wish, the proud, virtuous warrior that stood before Super Shenron would wish the other universes back (the other option being a selfish wish getting everything destroyed). It all worked out!

Let's be honest though. The Tournament had many twists and turns. Not even Zeno, either of them, knew who would truly win or how. So how can we expect our paths to be so predictable? Think about the moments in the tournament. How many times did Goku and Vegeta break their limits just to again be eating dirt? How many strong warriors were taken out unexpectedly? How many times did Frieza come back? No I mean really, Frieza coming back is just a law of 'Dragon Ball' at this point. But seriously, you will get knocked down again. You will be put in situations where hope seems over the mountain. But in the end, it will all work out. As long as you hold onto your core. As long as you remember to live. As long as you put faith in your word and grow with them. As long as you don’t lose focus on your tasks at hand and the goal you look to reach. It. Will. All. Work. Out. And it will surprise you just how well it will.

Well, that is all I have for this time. Farewell. Until we meet again!

P.S Can’t get enough life lessons from the Tournament? Check out my Medium for an extra life lesson! And please share!

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About the Creator

D.C Memoir

Sometimes the words find the page before you get the chance to understand them. In that case, most of these writings are just happy accidents. Coincidence. Or just a result of perfect entanglement.

Memoirs Tuesday | Poetry Thursdays

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