There’s something about growing up with superheroes and villains that really makes a boy (or girl) feel like he can save the world. When we were young we often thought about the huge differences that we would make. We knew that we have the ability to change the world, and we thought that we were just the people to do the job.
Sadly somewhere between 8 and 18 we lost sight of our own heroism. We started caring more about iphones and less about impact. We became consumers, and as consumers we thought less of what we could do and more of what we could get. Something in us died the moment we made that switch.
But I’ve been thinking a lot about honor and heroism lately and I’ve realized that it’s more possible than ever to be a hero in our twenties. We have just enough access to opportunity and resources to make a real difference. If we can only be disciplined enough to set a goal and work towards achieving it we can be real life heroes. Need some help figuring out how? Here’s a few quick tips:
Help a stranded driver
A stranded driver is like the modern day damsel in distress. For the low price of a few minutes of your time (to learn to change a tire) and about $10 (to buy jumper cables) you can attain all the necessary skills and tools to help out at least 50% of people who “break down.” If you’ve ever helped or been helped in this situation, you realize just how much of a hero the person who stops can be.
Teach a child or elderly person
No matter what stage you are in your education, we all possess the knowledge of something that could be of great use to a child, or even an elderly person. And if you’ve ever taught a child, you know just how amazing it can feel to know that something you taught a child will make a difference for the rest of their lives. Whether it’s teaching a kid how to save money or to shoot a jump shot, or teaching an elderly person how to use a computer, heroes find ways to help other people benefit from their knowledge.
Mentor a troubled teen
Better than any other age group, we understand the pressures and stresses of being a teen in today’s society. We just got out of there, and we know best all of the issues that a teenager today will face. Because of that knowledge, we can best identify with teenagers, better than their parents or other family members and better than many other adults they come into contact with. And we’re just the right age that they could identify with us. Mentoring a troubled teen can be infinitely rewarding because you don’t really have to do much at all. Just be there, be a friend, and show a teen possibilities that he/she might not even know existed. You’ll be making a real impact on their lives, and you’ll sacrifice little more than your time and maybe a little money; a small price to pay for the opportunity to turn someone’s life around.
Care for the environment
That’s right friends, Captain Planet was a superhero as well. And with BP’s “accident” spilling thousands (or maybe millions) of gallons of oil into the gulf, I think it’s pretty easy to see the line between good and bad as far as the environment goes. Pick up trash = good, spill oil into the worlds oceans = bad. Simple enough, right? Whether you’re taking drastic steps to reduce your carbon footprint, or just replacing your bulbs with fluorescent ones and using less water, every little bit counts. It’s not that difficult, and if our generation of adults is to be the ones that “save the world” we need to develop these habits into our lifestyle, not just gimmicks like the whole “green” fad.
Do good socially
It’s always great to help other people. But what’s even greater is to help other people catch the “helper” bug. You could do great things for the rest of your life, and that would be fantastic, but another person could get 10 of his/her friends to do good as well, and that would be just as great or even greater. Get your friends to fight for your cause and you’ll be an army of heroes, rather than just an army of one. Plus, it’s a great thing to do good socially rather than just going out and partying all the time. If you’re stumped for ideas of great things to do socially, visit dosomething.org.
You see, with these 5 steps you’ll be on your way to being a hero in no time. Can you imagine what kind of world we would live in if everyone took just 10 minutes out of their day to be a hero? That would be 60 hours of heroism from each person each year. And it would be a world of difference to the person you’re saving. I know the 9 year old inside of me is really excited that I’m taking these baby steps towards becoming a hero. What does the 9 year old inside of you think about you?
