Would a Hero Hide in the Shadows?

Whitney Wisdom: 

Everybody searching for a hero People need someone to look up to I never found anyone who fulfill my needs A lonely place to be And so I learned to depend on me 

I decided long ago Never to walk in anyone’s shadows If I fail, if I succeed At least I’ll live as I believe No matter what they take from me They can’t take away my dignity 

…Learning to love yourself It is the greatest love of all 

Whitney Houston, Greatest Love of All lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songwriters: Linda Creed / Michael Masser

Reflections:I couldn’t agree more with the lyrics of this song–the whole song really. However, this particular section stood out to me. How often are we asking others, “Who is your hero? or Who do you look up to?” While I don’t see anything wrong with looking up to others, I believe many times people lose vital pieces of their REAL-self when walking in the shadow of another. Some never get out of the *imitation phase and enter the emulation phase. They seem to get stuck there. 

Let’s face it, trying to meet the expectations of another human is near impossible. As is having one you look up to, meet your expectations of them. It just is. The more one gives, the more the other expects. Or, the reciprocation of giving and taking is lost. The truth is, when someone is placed on some sort of pedestal, it is almost always a set up for disaster. People are fallible.

Besides, it’s difficult to let your light shine in another’s shadow. I, like Whitney, have never really had a hero. I have yet to find anyone I look up to so much that I desire to be like them. Even as a child, I didn’t have anyone to fill that role. Maybe it was a trust issue I had with the adults in my life, or perhaps it was a blessing in disguise? No matter the “why,” it helped me depend on the one I have control over–me. It, also, makes it easier to own your successes and lack thereof. As Whitney said in the song, “If I fail, if I succeedAt least I’ll live as I believe.” Being your own hero is lonely and exhausting, but you learn to compete with no one but yourself. You learn to push yourself and try to prove the doubters wrong. In the process, you learn what you’re capable of and what Whitney proclaims in the lyrics as “the greatest love of all…” loving yourself. And, that, my friends, will help carry you through this thing called life.

Because…

“No matter what they take from me, they can’t take away my dignity.”

You are valued, and that value doesn’t change based on the perception of others. Wouldn’t it be incredible if we empower those we serve to love themselves for who they REALLY are? To help them step out of the shadows and let their REALness light up the world? As I’ve quoted so many times on here, Michael McConaughey says it best when he stated, “My hero is me in ten years.” That’s such an invigorating thought! I can’t wait to see what I will cannonball into over ten years! 

Now, think about those you serve…what if their hero was them in ten years? Amazing, right?

Back to walking in the shadows of another…

Would a hero hide in the shadows? No way! 

Get out in the light! Make your splash and own it!

*At some point, you’ll have to move from imitating your heroes to emulating them. Imitation is about copying. Emulation is when imitation goes one step further, breaking through into your own thing. -Austin Kleon