What Kind of Hero Will You Be?

Words are very powerful. 

We use them on an everyday basis, but rarely do we stop and think about how we use them or the impact that they have when we drop them into our friendship and relationships. Research has shown that the average university educated student has somewhere near 17,000 individual base words to choose from on an everyday basis. This is a lot. Humans have been given a great blessing in the form of communication,  yet the question remains as to how we use them. 

I had a thought recently which made me step back and ponder. Imagine, that communication was a super-natural power that granted us the same status as a real-life superhero. Superman with words, you might say. Maybe you think yourself more like Batman, probably a more apt comparison. 

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You only have to look into the world of Batman to realise the potential of this thought. On the one hand, you have the chaotic character of the Joker; a man whose lifestyle is based around bringing anarchy, pandemonium and carnage to the city of Gotham through his actions. On the other, you have the Batman; a super-hero who selflessly gave his life to help those in need. 

Batman and the Joker are better representations than other superheros, because they have had no crazy accident or radioactive incident that gave them a unique advantage over everybody else. In that sense, they are relatable as it is only their sheer power of will and purpose that sets them apart from anyone else. 

Imagine, if you will, a world in which words had this kind of power to bring aid or chaos to the people around you. It should not be too hard to imagine such a world, because we are currently living in it. The devastation may not be as physical, but the pain is just as real.

We have been given the ability to build up, to encourage and to help those who truly need it with the way that you relate and connect with them; yet we have also been given the ability to mercilessly bring chaos to a persons mind through a through well-aimed insults.

If communication was a super power, what kind of hero would you be? 

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Men,

If you could use your words to build up and encourage one another instead of throwing each other under buses for the sake of a cheap laugh then you would have the same power as any hero out there. I am not alone when saying that when guys hang out and get real with each other, it is one of the best things out there. Too often, instead of getting real with each other we instead pretend that we don't need to talk at all.

Heroes exist for one reason, to serve those who need them.

Your fellow men need you, so many of them are being crucified out there in the battle of life.  There is a war going on right now in our back yards, in our school grounds and in our workplaces and you are on the front-line. Young men are the most at risk population for suicide in the world and desperately need a mate to talk to.

Your words can be the difference between them stepping out into a happier life or continuing to wallow in the misty clouds of depression. When you talk to each other, are you trying to build them up or are you trying to break them down?

Have you realized yet that the way that you talk to and talk about women impacts them? When you describe them as nothing more than a hot (or not so hot) body that you reduce them to an object. Maybe you are close to a women, but that expectation of perfection upon the ladies of this world is slowly eating away at them and destroying what is left of true beauty.

You are expected to fight for them, encourage them, build them up and protect them not just with your physique but with your language too. Failure to do so doesn't just hurt them, it hurts you too.

How are you going to be a hero to your mates? 

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Women,

I am not going to pretend like I know what it is like being a woman. I know what I see too often though, that women know how to use words like a weapon. They used barbed language, intent on tearing pieces from each other using conversation as a battleground. Maybe I don't understand what is going on, but when women consistently describe each other as "sluts", "bitches" and "whores" then the potential for pain and stress is enormous.

It pains me to see the impact it has on people I know, so stop using your words to build this crumbling facade of friendship and encourage each other in worthwhile pursuits. Don't be afraid to stand out for the things you believe in, in fact don't be afraid encourage each other to become better people. When you know someone is struggling, encourage them, build them up, use positive language and show them how valued they are to you.

Women, I urge you to think about the way that you communicate with the men in your life. You may not realize this, but so many of them live and die by how you describe them.

You may be the only one who believes in them, but by doing so and telling them so you help create a confidence in them that makes them feel like they can achieve anything. Unfortunately, I see the opposite just as much. I see men whose confidence has been shattered by the words of a woman in their life who hasn't understood that they need support and encouragement.

Much more then men, you have been given an amazing gift of communication so I beg of you, can you stand up and be counted as someone who encourages, supports and empathizes with the men of this world rather than be someone who tears the men in your life down strip by strip.

How are you going to be a hero to your friends?

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What do you think? How are you going to be a hero?

Let everyone know your opinion in a comment below. 

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