Are heroes born or made? Find your own super values!

According to Allison & Goethals (2010), heroes are believed to possess eight great attributes: they are smart, strong, resilient, selfless, caring, charismatic, reliable, and inspiring. These qualities can be aligned with the findings of Kinsella et al. (2015), who list bravery, moral integrity, courageous, protecting, conviction, honest, altruistic, self-sacrificing, selfless, determined, saving, inspiring, and being helpful as the most prototypical features of heroes. It would be extraordinary for a single person to possess all these characteristics, but great people tend to have several of them.

“We are all born with this tremendous capacity to be anything, and we get shaped by our circumstances—by the family or the culture or the time period in which we happen to grow up, which are accidents of birth; whether we grow up in a war zone versus peace; if we grow up in poverty rather than prosperity. … So each of us may possess the capacity to do terrible things. But we also possess an inner hero; if stirred to action, that inner hero is capable of performing tremendous goodness for others.”

Zimbardo, 2011

In real life, heroes are usually people who recognise their capabilities and use them actively to help others in many possible areas of life. In this vein, if we want to achieve great things it is crucial to be familiar with our strengths and weaknesses to manage them efficiently. Researchers noted being a hero is more like a learned behaviour than something one is born with (Kohen et al., 2019; Lehrer, 2010). Heroism, after all, isn’t supposed to be a teachable trait, however if we recognise our abilities, we can act according to them and focus more on what is still required to reach our goal. For example, in the heat of a given moment we may simply not have time to think but may nevertheless find a way to act, to speak out, or to help others in need. This makes people outstanding, as we can see nowadays no need to fight the Nemean Lion, capture Troy or find the Holy Grail, still someone with truly altruistic acts can become a (modern) hero.

Of course, every individual is different, and we all function differently based on our own values and personalities. This explains why it is vital to know yourself and your capacities. Knowing and working on your weaknesses and strengths will help you improve yourself, as in any area of life extensive and even general preparation helps the brain act almost automatically. Moreover, that is how hard work can compete with (and even beat?) talent. Like those athletes who practised the same shot or kick 1000x times or who have been trained to save lives or manage crises have the self-confidence and the moves to be able to act without thinking at stressful moments.

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

Bruce Lee

Not everyone is lucky enough to be born to be super talented in many areas. Many of us must face several obstacles in life before we come to that one possibly big moment of our life. Without enough courage, some may give up whereas others do not lose sight of their dreams. For many, giving up is explained by a litany of excuses (Fisher et al., 2011), but the ones who do not excuse themselves are becoming (close) to be known as heroes, as they will always stand out because they are passionate about their dreams, no matter the obstacles they encounter. Their willpower makes it all worth continuing to fight against the odds – and with this power you can also be an inspiration and guide for others who may yet be called “heroes”.

One thing is for certain: knowing your unique attributes and values can help you become the best possible version of yourself and fulfil your “hero destiny” once you have found the right (career) path.

“I think all of us have a hero and a villain in us.”

Anson Mount

So, choose & act wisely.

Sources:

– Allison, S., & Goethals, G. (2010). Heroes: What They Do and Why We Need Them (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.

– Bronk, K. C., Riches, B. R. (2017). The intersection of purpose and heroism: A study of exemplars. In: Allison, S. T., Goethals, G. R., Kramer, R. M. (Eds.), Handbook of heroism and heroic leadership (pp. 495-506). New York, NY: Routledge.

– Fischer, P., Krueger, J. I., Greitemeyer, T., Vogrincic, C., Kastenmüller, A., Frey, D., Heene, M., Wicher, M., & Kainbacher, M. (2011). The bystander-effect: A meta-analytic review on bystander intervention in dangerous and non-dangerous emergencies. Psychological Bulletin, 137(4), 517–537. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023304

– Keczer, Z., File, B., Orosz, G., & Zimbardo, P. G. (2016). Social Representations of Hero and Everyday Hero: A Network Study from Representative Samples. PLoS ONE, 11(8), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159354

– Kinsella, E. L., Ritchie, T. D., & Igou, E. R. (2015). Zeroing in on heroes: a prototype analysis of hero features. J Pers Soc Psychol, 108(1), 114-27. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038463

– Kohen, A. (2013). Untangling Heroism: Classical Philosophy and the Concept of the Hero (1st ed.). Routledge.

 – Kohen, A., Langdon, M., & Riches, B. R. (2019). The Making of a Hero: Cultivating Empathy, Altruism, and Heroic Imagination. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 59(4), 617–633. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167817708064

– Lehrer, J. (2010). Are Heroes Born, or Can They Be Made?. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 March 2022, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704156304576003963233286324.

– Zimbardo, P. (2011). What Makes a Hero?. Greater Good. Retrieved 20 March 2022, from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_makes_a_hero.