Having worked in the media for more than 20 years I have interviewed celebrities and royalty, politicians and publicans (as the English say). The experience rather soured me on the idea of hero-worship. Famous people still remain human beings – with many of the frailties of character that we all suffer from.
That being said, I think there is still a huge role for heroes in our lives. If we use our heroes correctly, they can inspire us and help us tap resources deep within ourselves in order to further our goals. I will give you an example.
Growing up as a Canadian boy in the 1970s, it’s not surprising that my first heroes were professional hockey players. The 70s were a decade of great hockey players as well as extremely rough play. One man stood out in his determination to win the game at any cost. He was the captain of the roughest and most feared team ever to hit the ice – the 1975 Philadelphia Flyers. His name was Bobby Clarke.
Born in a tiny northern Canadian mining town called Flin-Flon, Clarke’s Hall of Fame career included two Stanley Cups as well as three trophies for being the league’s most valuable player. He was also a diabetic. Despite being the highest scorer in his junior league, National Hockey League teams were reluctant to draft him. His illness, they said, made him frail and unable to withstand physical play. He showed them wrong on all counts.
There’s a famous television clip of Clarke in 1975 after winning the Stanley Cup. Teeth knocked out, sweating profusely from the hard work and effort he had put into the season, he looks at the camera and winks knowingly. I was an iconic, heroic image of the strength of determination over adversity. Whenever I struggle with the physical demands of my illness I conjure up this image:
Courtesy: National Hockey league
…and it makes me realize how much strength I have to draw on. The way I look at it, If he could do it, why couldn’t I?
It was decades later that I learned this technique was something that others do as well. I also learned it had a name. Anchoring. Anchoring helps trigger the mind to draw on the internal resources you need for your goal. It allows your hero to make you a hero. If you’ve never done this before, give it a try sometime.
Reply with a comment if you have ever been successful using the anchoring technique.
In my next post, I’ll show you how you can be your own hero.
