Facing the unknown is always scary. But if you don’t venture out and take risks, you will never know if something can work or succeed. Be brave and take risks, and don’t be afraid to try.

Never be afraid to open up your woes to your friends, you never know if someone has a quick solution or a brilliant idea you never thought of to solve your problems. Even if your friends can’t help you, a listening ear always makes you feel better.

Sometimes, you need to engage others in order to move ahead. Learning and practising social skills of negotiating and dealing with others can give you higher chances of a win-win outcome than if you go at something alone.

Even the most unlikely strangers will help you if you ask nicely. It’s impossible to get through life without asking someone to help you, from something as minor as asking for directions in a foreign country to greater crises like accidents. Teach your kids to ask for help if the situation calls for it, like when they are lost in a mall or park.

Keeping in touch with childhood friends, old classmates or ex-colleagues is not always possible when you are busy with your own family and endeavours, and it gets harder when they move overseas. But make the effort to catch up – getting together with your BFFs to reminisce old times is one of the greatest joys in life!

It’s not possible to speak “whale language” in real life, but our multi-cultural society has taught us to be multi-lingual and this has helped many of us in our work, travel and social life. Make strengthening your basic languages and picking up a new language a part of on-going learning so you broaden your communication capabilities to help you in life. Encourage your children to do the same.

Everyone is different. Don’t always assume we have the same values, beliefs and behavious just because we live together in the same country or place. Learn to respect diversity (it’s an important lesson for kids), and to respect the culture, religion and beliefs of others.

Two heads are better than one. Getting through a difficult spot is easier when there’s teamwork, so always strive to be a team player, and learn to work with, accommodate and listen to others.

This is a fun fact most of us might not know, and we learn this in Finding Dory. In real life, the octopus is a marvelous and smart creature, and it makes you realise that nature is truly wondrous and there are always things to explore and find out about the world we live in. The most important lesson here which we can teach ourselves and our kids: Respect all living creatures.

Learn to persevere in life. When things get tougher, listen to Dory sing, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming”.