Our heroic potential
Heroes understand that they need to live their lives, and they do it on their own terms as long as they do not harm others. To embrace our heroic potential, we need to use our lives and energy to achieve great things. Simeone says it’s not enough to dream about the things we want to achieve—we need to take action, even if it means taking baby steps. “This is the true way to reach happiness.”
Today I am writing this column in remembrance of the birthday of Benigno “Ninoy” Simeon Aquino Jr. who was born on November 27, 1932. Ninoy is our hero to the truest sense of the word, but the question is: Do we have what it takes to be heroic like him?
There is an interesting material on the Internet called “Live the Hero Philosophy” by Anthony Simeone, which argues that “heroism is a mindset, not a moment” and that regular people like us can be heroic or can become “a force for justice in this world.”
We don’t need to be a Ninoy Aquino to improve our lives and the lives of others, and to make things better. According to Simeone, living a hero’s life has to do with having the right Mindset, Method, and Motion.
Living a heroic life is a philoso
phy, and so it requires mindfulness and making the decision to believe in ourselves. It also requires action because heroes are focused on movement. “They take action to improve their lives and the world around them,” says Simeone.
Heroes also take the golden rule to heart: Treat others as you want to be treated. “Heroes believe that all human beings are worthy of life, justice, and the pursuit of purpose.” Ninoy believed this. Ninoy believed that the Filipinos are worth dying for.
Sometimes when we look around us we can’t help but see and feel that there is just too much negativity around us. This may make us hopeless and weary. Heroes acknowledge the presence of evil, but they also believe in the good. They have the ability to see “the world as a place of possibility, not just pain.” Ninoy wouldn’t have gone and sacrificed his life if he did not believe that the good can win against evil.
In the midst of the pandemic, many of us lament that the future is now more uncertain than ever. Heroes understand that it is futile to try and make this world a place of certainty. Instead, they cultivate certainty about themselves. What does this mean? It means that anything is possible and that we have the ability to create our fate and future. The outcome largely depends on our determination and willpower.
All heroes are being called to go on an adventure, the hero’s journey. As we remember Ninoy on his birthday, it’s also a good time to look into our lives to find out what adventure is calling us. What are we being challenged to do? It may be a small thing or a big thing, but it doesn’t matter.
Heroes understand that they need to live their lives, and they do it on their own terms as long as they do not harm others. To embrace our heroic potential, we need to use our lives and energy to achieve great things. Simeone says it’s not enough to dream about the things we want to achieve—we need to take action, even if it means taking baby steps. “This is the true way to reach happiness.”