Why do we have heroes? -

While watching the 2016 Rio Olympics opening ceremony I asked my wife Jennifer “who’s the guy carrying the South African flag? Jen remembered seeing him on Top Billing (for my international subscribers Top Billing is a South African TV magazine show). I said, “Surely Chad le Clos is most decorated and should be carrying the flag.” This week I understood why Wayde van Niekerk was the person who carried the South African flag. Wow, what a 400m final he ran, demolishing the 17-year world record and capturing the attention of the world. There are so many athletes that I can talk about but this article is actually not about them.

This article is about us, the ones who spend our time following our heroes. We even watch our heroes at odd hours, sacrificing sleep. My son, Shaolin, fell in love with formula one when he was 3 years old. Over the years, he would get up at the early hours of Sunday to watch the Japanese Grand Prix and stay up late to watch the Canadian and American races. For my son formula one drivers fall into the realm of heroes. Getting back to the question of “why do we have heroes?” All of us secretly want to do significant things and be recognized for it. I believe there is a part of us that wants to grow and achieve.

When we watch others achieve greatness, it is this part of us, which stimulates our endocrine system, pumping hormones into our bloodstream. This in turn creates emotions that elevate us. Watching others achieve greatness resonates deep within us. However, we must recognize that people who achieve greatness have worked at it for years. The men’s 100m final event at the Olympics takes under 10 seconds, yet years of preparation is essential to qualify for the finals let alone winning it. If one is not prepared to put in the effort to work towards greatness then the alternative to satisfy the part that earns for greatness is to watch and celebrate our heroes.

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