Heroes & Legends Pt 3 -- The Hero

The last time we talked about Heroes and Legends we worked through some of the differences and worked out some of the kinks between the two.  Now I want to really start to dive in and work on the Hero by itself.  The Hero, as I've stated in previous posts, is generated from a motivated effort.  To really understand that I want to begin to dig into the definitions of those words.

Motivation
One definition given for motivation is: the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior.  That's pretty cut and dry.  It also speaks directly towards the point I'm trying to make with the Hero Response.  The Hero is aroused to action toward a desired goal.  As with any force in nature, something must initiate that movement.  


A focus area for the 2-Pros team around motivation has been to discuss intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.  Now there is much research available on this topic, but I'll leave that to other experts.  Where we feel that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations come in to play is that we feel understanding what is motivating is key to initiating motivation.

For the Hero this is especially important.  Whether we are seeking to initiate a Hero Response within ourselves or in a staff member that we are coaching, we will need to provide the spark.

Effort
A definition offered for effort is: a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end.  The iconic trait of a Hero is effort.  Because with a Hero we don't just limit effort to "tending toward a particular end." Rather, with Heroes, we associate maximum effort, such as an athlete with intense facial expressions pumping down the field or a firefighter barreling through a fiery doorway to save a trapped child.  Sometimes it's more subtle, like a parent who persevered job loss and health issues to raise us , but it still associates enormous effort.


In this way, effort is a requirement for a Hero.  A Hero who didn't give it their all would be something less.  So as with motivation, effort is a key piece to breaking down the Hero.


In brief, then, our Hero is someone who is aroused to utilize herculean effort to accomplish a task.  Later this week, I will share a couple stories of heroic stories so that we can put some application to the Hero Response.