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Living Arts
Being Your Own Hero
by Jennie Brown Hakim
“How in the end can one possibly hold anyone responsible for our own underdeveloped visions, or undeveloped strength of character?”
– Ruth St. Denis, modern dancer, (1879-1968)
When you hear the word “hero,” who do you think of first?
Do you think of people who have devoted themselves to making the world a better place, like Nobel Peace Prize winner Emily Greene Balch? People who gave their lives standing up for justice, like civil rights activist Medgar Evers? People who stood on the artistic and cultural edge, like comedian George Carlin? People who invented devices that changed the world forever, like Martin Cooper, the designer of the first cell phone? People you’ve only seen in primary inks on the pages of a comic book, like Spider-Man? Or the people who have been in your life all along, like your parents, grandparents, siblings, and teachers?
What is the common denominator in all of these cases? None of them are you.
We are far better at looking up to other people, gazing admiringly at their great feats, instead of going out and performing great feats of our own.
Why is that so? Why don’t the amazing accomplishments of our heroes spur us to imitate them? After all, trivialities like haircuts and handbags inspire imitation—why not good deeds and work?
Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Well, in the real world, it is anything but.
Why do we think heroism is an attribute not our own? We can point the finger at our 24/7 carousel of media, where we see an ever-revolving parade of heroes both genuine and sham. It wasn’t too long ago, when we viewed history through a wide lens, that we only knew the names of our families, neighbors, and merchants. Now we “know” hundreds, maybe thousands of personalities, which should give us more role models to follow. Instead, it only increases the belief that heroism rests outside of us.
We might also blame our tendency toward modesty. Even now, when it appears that the world is all too ready to reward those who expose themselves (literally and figuratively), most of us keep our mental trench coats closed tight. Modesty is hardly a vice, but it need not be at odds with heroism.
We can think of our heroes as extensions of ourselves. However, we tend to collectivize heroism in the name of patriotism, feminism, and ethnic pride. It is really not fair to piggyback on other people’s achievements. Good acts as well as bad belong to individuals, not groups.
That being said, I believe that the most powerful force keeping us from being heroes in our own lives is inertia.
Inertia is a more powerful force than we think. We may believe that inertia is the opposite of action, but it is an act—the act of staying put. Superstitiously, we think that staying put will protect us from danger. But it kills us before bodily death to not boldly go forward.
We are creatures of impulse. We shiver when it gets cold, recoil when we get too close to fire, and freeze when we feel a threat—even when we know that we should act.
Being a hero is an act of risk. It doesn’t necessarily mean risk of life or health. It’s often a matter of just saying what must be said, whether it be words of criticism, praise, or love. It often means making ourselves known to the world.
I confess that I have many essays that are half-finished or yet-to-be-written. My rate of completion in the absence of a request or deadline remains embarrassingly slow, as unhurried as a growing tree. I have a LinkedIn account, a Twitter account, a spot for my graphics and photography at behance.net, and, yes, a blog. But I delay using these assets to my professional advantage. I can say that I can’t see the forest (the future) for the trees (the present)—but that’s not the whole truth. I, too, allow inertia to hold me back. When I am online, I “drift” to news sites like HuffingtonPost.com instead of looking for new markets and opportunities. I also lose my focus when I remember to do the laundry and buy the groceries but “forget” to write or cold call potential clients.
Inertia is the villain, but it has two great superheroes ready to fight it: awareness and action. Awareness brings to light what you are doing now (automatically logging on to The Huffington Post and jumping to every story that sounds interesting); action jolts you to a different, better place (checking out the Writer’s Market board or AbsoluteWrite.com and sending out those essays). Awareness opens your eyes, and action moves your feet (or hands, whichever applies). If you think about it, heroes always carry these two attributes.
Make awareness and action two of your best friends. Perhaps you could write them on a blank postcard or design a card and put it in a place that you visit often. When you keep these two words close, you will be a hero in your own life faster than you can say, “Shazam!”
Jennie Brown Hakim is a writer, graphic artist and thinker developing both her vision and her character in Tustin, CA. You can visit her blog at meanderingmouse.blogspot.com, and her artwork at behance.net/jenniesb.