Week 8 - The Hero Within

The end of 8 weeks already.  I love the passing of time when you get through enough of it to take stock on a good deal of effort.  With a surprising 900 gram loss this week, my 8 week total loss comes to 11.6 kilos.  I freely admit, that outstrips even my highest expectations that were set at around the 8 kilo mark.  Of course that level of progress is not likely to continue much longer if at all.  So in addition to taking stock of what has been done so far, I'm mapping out a new set of goals and expectations for the coming month/s.  Still, it's a great start to work with.

Moving to the more self indulgent phase of the story this week, although this whole blog is pretty heavy on the 'look at me' side of things when you think about it.  Mind you, is that not the basis of the blog medium more broadly?  I guess that is another story for a different blog.  My mind this week has been turning over the concept of what makes someone a hero.  What is it that takes someone from the ordinary to something more inspirational in our minds eye?  I imagine that it is different for everyone.  Hence each person is drawn to different people, past and present, when they search for someone to look up to.

So what are the characteristics most common in the people we see as heroes?  Is it charisma that plays the biggest part?  Or any other personality traits that appeal?  Maybe it is physical attributes or prowess on the highest levels of the global sporting arenas.  Is it success in other aspects of life like business or the world of movies?  I've been giving this a bit of thought over the past few days and whilst it is not an exhaustive list of characteristics, I have come up with a few that certainly appeal to me.

When I was much younger, I don't remember having any heroes that I looked up to.  The first person I think I ever really wanted to emulate, if that aspirational type behaviour is an indication of hero status, was Paul 'The Chief' Harragon.  He was a Rugby League player of some note at the time.  I was preparing for an under 21 provincial match in that year's national carnival against NSW in Rugby Union and for some reason I decided that I wanted to play like 'The Chief'.  This was something totally out of the ordinary for me and not something I had done before or since.  We were comprehensively beaten on the night in all aspects of the game including the scoreboard.  Needless to say, I didn't play in a very Chief like fashion and never tried to emulate either the physical style or persona again.  I think when it came to Rugby, I pretty much did my own thing with regards to playing style.  Even though it was in the context of achieving the goals of a team.

Working hard on the mats

In more recent times, I have come to admire more deeper qualities than simply the physical efforts of any given sporting star on their chosen field of competition.  Having said that, there are some fantastic athletes around that I do hold in very high esteem, through the simple thoughts on how much effort, discipline and dedication it would take to succeed at the highest level.  Sometimes I just contemplate in awe, the sacrifice and damn hard work that they must put themselves through.  When looking closer to home, I find myself paying more attention to the strengths of those around me.  The people I interact with who do extraordinary things, day to day that go largely unnoticed by most and often by me I suspect.  What I have noticed in the short exposure to Martial Arts that I have had, is that what it takes to step onto the mat, let alone compete can make the humblest people heroes in my eyes.

Training with people in such a pursuit as MMA brings you in close quarters to say the least.  It also allows you the opportunity to make deeper connections with them through that common shared experience.  Much as it was in my Rugby days I suppose.  Although I was too young or immature to recognise it.  To my own detriment I see now.  You know what the person next to you is going through and how hard they are working and there is mutual respect as a result.  With that respect in place, you often interact more honestly and directly than would otherwise be the case.  You see each other at your best and worst.  Dare I say, you sometimes dive deeply into the other person's psyche through the raw emotions that come out.  That's not to say that is the case with everyone, because as with all things in life, there are just some people you are drawn to more than others.

What I have found though is that there are small sum of people who are uniquely willing to give of themselves to the betterment of others.  Whether it be giving of their time, knowledge or to coin a much overused phrase, literally in some cases, their 'blood, sweat and tears' (I have seen them all recently), there are a select few whose openness to contribute to the growth of others is quite inspiring.  They set an example to me of something that I can and do aspire to emulate.  It is for that reason that they are also heroes in my eyes.

For is it not those people whose actions we seek to emulate out of admiration that we hold up as heroes?  I'm very comfortable in aspiring to be more like anyone who puts so much of themselves towards the improvement of others.  I guess the real point I am trying to make is that I've been very pleasantly surprised at where my efforts to keep fit and healthy have taken me in relation to the people it has led me to.  Not only have I found an avenue by which I can contribute to the development of others, which is something that (ironically somewhat selfishly) gives me great personal satisfaction, but, I get to do it with others who share the same mind set.  Win win!

*Image this week is a random one and not mine.  Just depicting something like the mat work that I am referring to.