The Good Place is over, and while everyone is crying into their margarita mix over just how perfect that ending was, we’re taking a look back at some of the biggest life lessons that the show taught us. Because that was one of the wonderful things about The Good Place: it wasn’t just high concept comedy, it was a show that showed everyone how to live a happier life, and create their own ‘good place’.
Of course, it did this so wonderfully because it used such relatable characters – the status-obsessed Tahani, the anxiety-ridden Chidi, the less-than-brilliant Jason, and of course, trash-bag herself, Eleanor. Eleanor was the perfect example of a person who didn’t actively try to be ‘bad’, she was just a little self-centered and lazy, and didn’t try particularly hard to be good, either. Thankfully, she had a lot to teach us all by the end.
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Be Kind In Little Ways
One of the biggest things that we can learn from Eleanor’s journey is actually about the little things – and that being a good person doesn’t have to be about raising millions for charity or being perfect. Instead, it’s about letting someone go ahead of you in line at the frozen yogurt place. Or being polite to the guy standing outside the supermarket with a clipboard. Not everyone can change the entire heaven/hell system to save every soul… but everyone can just be a little bit nicer, at times.
Never Stop Learning
Eleanor wasn’t big on traditional education when she was on Earth, but once she got to the Good Place (or, technically, the Bad Place), she discovered that if she wanted to stick around, she was going to have to do some learning. And it was this that brought her all kinds of amazing things. Not just the changes that she and the cockroaches made to the Good Place, but her friendships, her relationship with Chidi, her realizations about herself… the list goes on. At the end of the day, keep learning!
Ask For Help When You Need It
One of Eleanor’s biggest faults was that she took the idea of self-reliance to the extreme, but when she thought that she had been accidentally placed in the Good Place and needed to find a way to stay there (or head to Hell), she reached out to someone that she thought would be able to help. Admittedly, she didn’t exactly do this for the best reasons, but it definitely led to the best results – and that’s a great reminder to ask for help if you need it.
Stop Comparing Yourself
Especially at the start of their friendship, Eleanor had a habit of constantly comparing herself to Tahani – and this never really went away, although she certainly got better with it. And that’s our next lesson (that comes from Tahani, too, as she was able to stop comparing herself to her sister and find a closer relationship there, too).
No one is perfect – not even a perfectly stylish, semi-celebrity like Tahani. And even if she was, Eleanor could never be anyone but herself – which is just fine. The two worked better as friends than as some kind of ridiculous competition, anyway!
Reach Out To People
Although Eleanor is far from the kindest or most outgoing person at the start of her time in the Good Place, by the end, she’s figured out how to reach out to people with genuine kindness. She goes back to the Medium Place to see if she can talk to Mindy about going through the new process herself – and at this point, Eleanor has nothing to gain from it, really. She’s just being kind, and taking a risk (especially with someone as abrasive as Mindy), which is something everyone could learn to do.
It’s Ok To Enjoy The Simple Pleasures
No matter how much Eleanor grows and changes and develops, she is still someone who will always love the simple pleasures- like shrimp. And margaritas.
She knows that even when a mind is busy coping with some weighty questions, or trying to deal with heavy situations, that doesn’t mean that there’s no time for a delicious treat – and even becoming a ‘better person’ doesn’t have to mean giving up all your guilty pleasures along the way.
Be Confident In Your Looks
No matter what, even when Eleanor is realizing that she might not be that great of a person, she never doubts how attractive she is – and she has no problem telling other people that she is ‘a legit snack’, either. And while, admittedly, that kind of confidence is easier to come by if you happen to be Kristen Bell, a dose of that kind of self-confidence is something that everyone could use from time to time.
Think Outside The Box
Eleanor eventually figures out what is going on with the original Good Place/Bad Place, and she does it because she’s not afraid to take a totally new angle and really think outside the box. And while it makes sense to initially approach things logically, Eleanor can teach us all that it’s a good thing to occasionally just take a totally new approach and think way outside the box to get the answer.
It’s Ok To Be Vulnerable
This is one of Eleanor’s biggest (and most important) lessons in the entire show – that even though she spent most of her life taking care of herself, and convincing herself that she didn’t need (or want) anyone else, being vulnerable actually made her happier in the end. Of course, it took her a long time to open up (and she needed to find the right people to open up around!) but once she does, she learns that it can be so much more rewarding than refusing to let anyone in.
A Leap Of Faith Is Better Than A Sit Of Doubting
This may be one of the best quotes from the show, as Eleanor attempts to explain why they should take a leap… and while she might be expressing it in a uniquely ‘Eleanor’ way, she’s not wrong! Taking a leap of faith is sometimes the only way to move forward – if the cockroaches had stayed safe and refused to try, they would probably have ended up in Hell, or wiped out of existence. Instead, they decided to have a little faith, and take that fateful leap.