Everyone needs a mentor and some will look up to their mentors as heroes. Darren Hardy is a business mentor who has a website online community that measures in the millions across the country and into the world (https://dd.darrenhardy.com). I came across Darren a few years back when I knew I needed some business development strategies and with the help of Darren and the wisdom of many many others, Encouragers Counseling & Training Centers, Inc. was built. One thing that I've learned as a police officer, and now as a therapist, is that not everyone wants a mentor and even fewer people have a hero in their life to look up to.
The term "Hero" for me means a rescuer. Look at all the heroes in the current movies. What do they do? They save people, heck, the WHOLE WORLD at times. People in distress, suffering the pains brought on by evil villains intent on destruction and harm. Someone is clinging to the edge of a cliff and the hero swoops in and offers their hand and the person is pulled to safety.
This kind of sounds like a therapist to me. Consider this...a therapist swoops in and gives a hand by offering advice, tools, and alternative solutions to help people over come the pains in their life. The person seeking the counsel then reaches up and grabs a life they were meant to take. Heck, I need a cape if this is true! Maybe a photo of me with hands on my hips, red cape flowing behind me, the company logo on my chest....ugh....no thanks. Because I know the truth about wanting to be a hero: You can't save anyone who doesn't want to be saved.
I have witnessed thousands of people who needed help, yet they refuse help. I have reached down to lift someone from harm, only to watch them purposefully let go and fall into obscurity. I have cried over the refusal of a loved one to get help, and I have suffered at the hands of an abusive spouse who refused to change.
Being a hero to someone takes more than a desire to rescue someone. Who nominated YOU to be their hero in the fist place? Empathy, compassion, hope, and even prayers will not force someone to seek help if they refuse to change. The Bible is filled with people who had "hardened hearts" and who turned their back on God. Even the entire nation of Israel turned its back on God and pursued selfish endeavors in an attempt to control their destiny. We are no different.
I'm not a hero. I can't save anyone. But I can give a hand of support. I can lift someone's spirits. I can offer hope and I can show someone a better life full of potential. It's up to them to only reach out and take it.