“Unconsciously we all have a standard by which we measure other men, and if we examine closely we find that this standard is a very simple one, and is this: we admire them, we envy them, for great qualities we ourselves lack. Hero worship consists in just that. Our heroes are men who do things which we recognize, with regret, and sometimes with a secret shame, that we cannot do. We find not much in ourselves to admire, we are always privately wanting to be like somebody else.”
-Mark Twain
A hero is someone we look up to for having certain qualities that we admire. And what makes us admire these qualities? There isn't a set list of qualities that each of us admires, or at least admire enough to call someone a hero. It's the experiences we've had, the environment that we grew up in, envy and sympathy that make us admire a certain quality in another person.
Everyone can see their own flaws. When you look in the mirror, it is likely more often that you see the bad things - fly aways, pimples, scars - than the good things. Although the good things are there, you don't see them because it is human nature to see what is wrong with ourselves. This goes the same for your personality - we tend to dwell on our faults and past mistakes, because we are burdened with regret. Our shame as a result of self-reflection from our own personality that leads to envying others, because we can see where we fall short of other people's good qualities. When we see someone that is more diligent than us, or that handles stress better, or gets better grades or is a better singer, we feel ashamed. We see what qualities we lack, and how another person seems to have them naturally, so we aspire to instill those qualities in our life, and in the process we put that person on a pedestal of sorts, making them a role model/hero in some ways.
Another way a hero is made is from the environment with which we grew up. Say that you are the oldest child, and you got stuck babysitting younger siblings all the time. Because of this, you can
sympathize with someone who also had to babysit younger siblings. So if you hear about a person who watched three kids almost every day while their parents worked, made dinner, got their homework done and balanced school activities on top of all that, you would understand how hard that must have been, and admire their strength and perserverance. This is just one example of how the environment you grew up in can create a hero in someone. Another would be of how you were raised; if you were raised to hold doors for people, or put school first, or something of the like, these standards would be important to you, and seeing someone else do them with ease would likely give you inspiration to try harder and be more like them, making them your hero.
Experiences could be another thing that influence what qualifies someone as a hero to us. If someone had a near death experience, a car crash for example, and someone else came to rescue them, that
person would become a hero to them. Whether it was just another citizen or a firefighter, their strength and bravery would be admired, and the person would feel in debt to them. Once and done experiences can heavily influence what qualities we value in ourselves and others, therefore creating
our standards for what a hero is.
So when you think of a hero, it is likely coming from envy, experiences you've had or the environment you grew up in that makes you think of a hero as a hero. Your experiences and growing environment shape who you are and what you value, and your values and morals are reflected in your heroes and role models.
Everyone can see their own flaws. When you look in the mirror, it is likely more often that you see the bad things - fly aways, pimples, scars - than the good things. Although the good things are there, you don't see them because it is human nature to see what is wrong with ourselves. This goes the same for your personality - we tend to dwell on our faults and past mistakes, because we are burdened with regret. Our shame as a result of self-reflection from our own personality that leads to envying others, because we can see where we fall short of other people's good qualities. When we see someone that is more diligent than us, or that handles stress better, or gets better grades or is a better singer, we feel ashamed. We see what qualities we lack, and how another person seems to have them naturally, so we aspire to instill those qualities in our life, and in the process we put that person on a pedestal of sorts, making them a role model/hero in some ways.
Another way a hero is made is from the environment with which we grew up. Say that you are the oldest child, and you got stuck babysitting younger siblings all the time. Because of this, you can
sympathize with someone who also had to babysit younger siblings. So if you hear about a person who watched three kids almost every day while their parents worked, made dinner, got their homework done and balanced school activities on top of all that, you would understand how hard that must have been, and admire their strength and perserverance. This is just one example of how the environment you grew up in can create a hero in someone. Another would be of how you were raised; if you were raised to hold doors for people, or put school first, or something of the like, these standards would be important to you, and seeing someone else do them with ease would likely give you inspiration to try harder and be more like them, making them your hero.
Experiences could be another thing that influence what qualifies someone as a hero to us. If someone had a near death experience, a car crash for example, and someone else came to rescue them, that
person would become a hero to them. Whether it was just another citizen or a firefighter, their strength and bravery would be admired, and the person would feel in debt to them. Once and done experiences can heavily influence what qualities we value in ourselves and others, therefore creating
our standards for what a hero is.
So when you think of a hero, it is likely coming from envy, experiences you've had or the environment you grew up in that makes you think of a hero as a hero. Your experiences and growing environment shape who you are and what you value, and your values and morals are reflected in your heroes and role models.
