This article started out as a comment made to Mason Currey of Subtle Maneuvers on the post Step into your heroic period and then I expanded the comment for this article.
On Living a Heroic Life
I think of our whole life as a hero’s journey - not a single event or victory, but an ongoing path. Being a hero, to me, is not about doing something grand or being celebrated. It’s about how you live each day. It’s about walking the path until living heroically becomes ordinary, until it’s simply who you are.
People tend to romanticize heroes. They look at figures like Babe Ruth and see greatness, myth, legend. But when Babe Ruth became a hero in the eyes of others, it was just another day for him. He was living his life, showing up, swinging the bat. The romance is for the spectators, the myth-makers. The person living the life doesn’t get to feel like a hero - they just keep falling down, getting back up and moving forward. And in some ways, that’s the truest heroism of all: to keep going without applause, without needing to be seen.
To walk that path intentionally, you have to study it. You have to ask yourself: What are the qualities of a heroic person? Then you begin to emulate those qualities, not once in a while, but every day. You practice them like a craft, until you become saturated with them. That’s the work.
To be of a heroic nature is to be courageous, resilient, honest, purposeful, humble, compassionate, discerning, intuitive, self-sacrificing, visionary, and unafraid to stand alone. And that’s just the beginning - there are probably a hundred more qualities that unfold as you go. Each one needs to be lived, not just understood.
These qualities are developed in the context of struggle, difficulty, scarcity, self-doubt, self-questioning, limitations to overcome or goals just beyond our reach. Conditions that stretch the imagination, require creativity and demand self-discipline.
Perhaps many prefer to stay in their familiar comfort zone rather than take on new challenges or strike out and explore the unknown. But that’s the journey. Some choose to walk it and sometimes we are forced into it by circumstances
All humans are heroic by nature. That is why we are fascinated by stories of heroic characters and love watching them work their way out of trouble. But how many people actually choose this path in a conscious way? I don’t know. Maybe not many. It’s hard. It’s not glamorous. It doesn’t always reward you in obvious ways. But without developing these qualities, people don’t tend to rise to the occasion when it matters. They buckle. They fall into fear, confusion, anxiety or self-preservation. Rising to the moment isn’t something you can fake - it has to be built into you over time.
The heroic path, though admirable, isn’t about being admired. It’s about being ready. Ready to show up, ready to serve, ready to hold your ground or surrender when that’s the right thing to do. And if one lives like that long enough, they don’t need the label of “hero.”
I have a dear close friend I've known since university, who has MS. She's a retired attorney and has been creating art via ceramics and is really great at it in my opinion. She suffers from all sorts of issues regarding her disease yet she keeps on keeping on creating amazing art with an attitude of all the right stuff. She is my hero and we have such a fantastic connection as we discuss our thoughts/feelings/opinions/theories about art and life. I send her your essays and she loves them. I have learned so much from her over the years.
Reading this really hit home for me. I’ve learned the hard way that no one is coming to save me; I have to decide what my life stands for and then put in the work every day to live by those values. This means even when it’s hard, even when nobody is watching. For a long time, I waited for something or someone to “rescue” me, but eventually I realized that’s not how real life works. If I want meaning, I have to create it.
I relate to what you wrote about ordinary heroism and the daily showing up, the falling down and getting back up, and the quiet persistence. It’s not glamorous, and there’s no applause, but over time, you start to become the kind of person you hoped you’d be. The journey isn’t easy, but I never give up. I’ve learned to be the hero of my own story, and that’s what keeps me moving forward.
Thanks for putting this into words. It’s a reminder that living heroically isn’t about recognition but living with intention, even when it’s tough.