The Reluctant Hero

This is the kind of hero I like, a reluctant one, who has to realize his potential heroism. He got bit by a spider, nothing happened. He fell into a vat of nuclear waste, nothing happened. And he took a course on the history of comic book superheroes, which bored him to tears, all the cliches. But when the subject came up, What about you? he said meekly, "Who? Me?"

All this happened in Mediapolis, where he was born, and where someday they'll erect a statue to him. As for now, the police are chasing him, with all their expensive gear bought with Homeland Security largesse. When the whole terrorism scare of the 2000s took place -- when we were so terrified we even renamed French fries -- H.S. was delivering gigantic amounts of money to small police stations in large unmarked suitcases in large unmarked trucks. So they ended up with a lot of unnecessary command units -- mostly used to monitor unsuspicious activity at the July 4th parade, kids taking pieces of their brother's cotton candy, etc. -- and stun guns, poison darts, tasers, lasers, and a few smart guns that hit their target but cannot kill, grazers.

What they didn't have was a super hero. Till this guy -- whose secret identity is so secret that even I, the omniscient narrator, don't know it -- said to himself, not repeating it anyone, "What about me?" I get that feeling once in a while. There's no reason it couldn't be me, although in this case it was him, since I don't live in Mediapolis. He accepted the call and came charging on the scene. Please don't get bored to tears, I'm hoping this gets better...

Now, the Reluctant Hero has a close ally, who presumably know his secret identity, his mother. She's in on all the local gossip, and flashes his sign in the sky, the insignia seen above. A question mark, indicating his reluctance, and a lightning bolt, showing his later determination. If it's night, he pops up out of bed, going, "What? At this hour? Am I supposed to be watching the sky all night? What kind of life is that? And if the crime happens in broad daylight, what then? If it's not a cloudy day, how am I ever going to see it?"

All right, he has the Reluctant Heromobile, nothing like the fancy stuff the Mediapolis police have, just a typical junker, an old Ford Taurus, reluctant to start, outfitted with a few tools, various extinguishers, grappling hooks, and a cotton candy machine for the kids. And whereas the police are stymied -- they have so much fancy Homeland Security equipment they barely know how to use -- the Reluctant Hero puts the pedal to the metal and gets the job done.

His super powers are: 1. Force of personality by virtue of his determination, and, 2. Miracles. Thinks what he wants to happen. A quick pose as a question mark, followed by thrusting his arms, one up, one down, like lightning. The sound of thunder rumbles through the town. He nods his head and it's done.

He rushes in, clunks the crooks' heads together and ties them up. He leaves them in a pile by the road. He breaks up domestic disputes, and leaves the perpetrator, sometimes a woman, usually a man, but sometimes a woman, tied up in a pile by the road. He rushes into schools where there's a fight going on, ties up the perpetrators and leaves them tied up in a pile by the road, then makes cotton candy for the innocent.

What are the police doing all this time? They eventually show up to collect the piles of human rubbish. But most of the time they have their wives on their mind, or their girlfriends -- sexual stuff -- and they want to get back to them quickly, so they're not very dedicated. That particular area needs single, fearless guys, to set aside the Homeland Security gadgetry and simply charge in with a sword. Anyone can handle a sword. You slice and dice, nothing to it.

As of right now -- and the police think he's a criminal himself, which is what also happened to both the Lone Ranger and Superman when they started out --  the Reluctant Hero has bested the police every time. May they someday say the same thing of all of us, or something equally glorious.

Working Up To Willpower -- Gold Stars To All!

NIGHT:

Clearly we don't all presently have the same abilities when it comes to the exercise of willpower.

I've shared today some very basic exercises for the increasing of people's willpower, and according to my feedback, they were very helpful.

So thank you to the ones who sent notes, informing me both of your success and your ... not-yet-successful attempts.

I want each of you to give yourself a gold star, a high five, a clap on the back, and an "Attaboy" or "Attagirl."

And if you're able to do one of these things, or perhaps all four -- then more power to you! You have more willpower than you thought!

For some of the ones who had a real difficult time of it, be encouraged. Today was just the start. Try it again tomorrow.

Let's review: 1) Try to raise your right hand from a table, keep it raised a few inches up for three or four seconds, then lower it again.

2) Stand from a chair, walk around the room (or stand in one place if walking would be too much), then be seated again.

Very good! I'm proud of you. For those who were able to do it -- great job! You're well on your way to being a person of strong willpower.

I've specifically addressed some of your concerns on my blog. There are some things you can do. Don't give up quite yet! All is not lost!

Working Up To Willpower -- Follow-up

Thanks for all the great notes today about my post on "Working Up To Willpower." I just want to address them in general and perhaps mention one or two in particular.

Yes, willpower is something that you can get better at. It's not true that you either have it or you don't, you know, as some kind of ongoing condition. It's simply that there are some who have stronger willpower than others. My sense is that they reinforce what they have and thereby have more willpower to use.

For many of you this seemed to come across as a big surprise. So I'm glad you're encouraged and that you plan on repeating the exercises until you're able to press on to bigger and more challenging things. Good job. Give yourself a gold star!

To D.F. -- You said you were only able to raise your right hand for three seconds once. I want to encourage you to think about this. Somehow you were able to write me a note about it, meaning that you used your hand more than three seconds. It looks to me that you're dealing with a mental block when given specific instructions, and it's not that you can't use your hand in a normal way. Perhaps you're thinking too much about it, or perhaps you have some kind of complex going back to childhood, in which you unconsciously rebel against instructions, then attribute it to some inability on your part. I would encourage you to try the exercise again, but this time read the instructions to yourself outloud, claiming it as your own instructions to yourself. I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised that not only will your hand follow your willpower for a brief period, but that you will be able to hold it up longer than you now imagine! Good job!

To P.W. -- I'm sorry, but I did not get the standing up and sitting down exercise from a book, so I won't be able to point you to a particular title for purchase. In regard to your desire for diagrams or drawings to enhance your understanding, I would suggest that you go somewhere to a public place, perhaps a library, somewhere where people sit in chairs and then later get up. If you wait long enough you will see precisely what it looks like. Look closely. First they will be sitting, then they will stand. There's no guarantee, I admit, that they will sit down again, but chances are, of course depending on how long you wait, someone will eventually sit down so that you can see the whole process clearly demonstrated. If somehow you are unable to get to a public place, you might put a mirror in front of a chair where you live, then watch yourself stand and sit. I appreciate your concerns, but I hope you're not too offended if I say to you that this is not that hard an exercise to conceptualize.

Working Up To Willpower

A lot of my interest is focused on willpower.

You can do a lot with willpower. But of course there are things you can't do, things that would be physically impossible, like running a five second mile. And things that, they say, you can't do, because of various chemical dependency reasons. You can do a lot but of course reality limits us.

Just because you can't do some things with willpower doesn't mean you can't do plenty. And that's where my interest lies. I want to know what I can do and what I can't do. It certainly seems to me that if it's within the realm of reality and it's something I really want to do, that something within me can get the job done.

I will to do things, then I do them. Like that.

But not everyone has willpower equally, it seems. Or perhaps we just don't know we could have it and do have the potential for it. Or perhaps we're weak through various habits, ruts we're in, so we're at the bottom rung of willpower instead of up the ladder somewhere in a respectable place.

You can work up to willpower, though. That's a key truth. Just because you think you don't have it doesn't mean you can't get it. To bring forth the potential could very well be simply a matter of working up to it, proving the potential all along. You might surprise yourself by what all you can do. And having surprised yourself with the small things -- the small exercises of willpower -- you can really surprise yourself by gigantic strides later on.

Let's say I haven't got any willpower. What kind of exercises might I try to show not only that I do have it, but that I can incrementally increase it as I go along?

I would suggest trying some of these very simple, very basic things. If you can master these -- give them a try -- then maybe you can achieve wonderful things in life, things that before were only fantasies, things in your dreams.

Exercise: Sit at a table. Put your hands on the table. Take a couple deep breaths and try to center your thoughts. You are going to will it now, that you are able to raise your right hand off the table and hold it in midair for three seconds. If you're set, go! Steady there. Hold it, 1-2-3, OK lower it. If you're ready, try it again. If you couldn't do it, don't worry. We'll try it a few times. Repeat the process. Did you do it? Good for you! If not, take a break and congratulate yourself on having given it a super try.

Exercise: Using nothing but the desire and willpower that you have, get up from the chair you're currently in, stand there for a while (let's go 10 seconds), then sit down again. All right, go! Some of you aren't up yet. You're shifting in the chair like you're helpless. Give it a try. OK, some of you are up. You're on two feet. Very good. Some you, this wasn't any trouble for. Just a few seconds to go, and ... down. Very good for everyone. A few of you didn't make it. But I'm giving out A's for effort today. You'll get it next time.

That's enough for today. Just let me encourage you. You can work up to willpower. There are things that you can do simply because you put your mind to it. Then your body follows. Try these again, especially if you didn't get it. For those who were very quick, perhaps look around and think of something that might stretch you. Something I would recommend would be not just to stand in one place for 10 seconds, but perhaps walk around the room (don't get dizzy), then return to your place. Feeling the slightest bit insecure from being untethered to the chair is a natural response. It will come in handy when we start stressing the independence that goes with willpower. That will come.

OK, you all put forth a terrific effort. Kudos all around. Hit the showers, if you're able.