Upmarket Magazine

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The Myth of the Superhero Posted: 20 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST I love superheroes, whether they fly and wear a cape like Superman or drop one-liners like Arnold Schwarzenegger. I'm even fond of heroes who are cool and detached like James Bond. The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory. Of course during any superhero movie once the villain is defeated or the hero escapes some nefarious trap we see an individual unchanged by the encounter. They just move on to the next mission. The next villain. Or the next sequel. We learn that a hero's life is only complete after victory. But is that what happens in real life? Unfortunately not. In most cases, we don't experience the thrill of victory after something amazing–we feel a sense of depression. A feeling of failure. It sounds crazy–but look at your own life. Think about the moments you would count as your biggest "victory." Maybe you got the job of your dreams. Maybe you were recognized on a national stage. Maybe you sold your first book, married the love of your life, or bought your first house. According to Hollywood your life is now complete. But I bet in many of those moments your sense of victory was quickly replaced by a sense of failure. Your blog isn't big enough. Your book sales aren't high enough. Your promotion not good enough. That's one of the ironies of life. After our biggest victories, we experience our biggest crashes. My wife and I feel this with our son. After wrestling with health issues and devastating medical diagnoses, It wasn't until Eli made it through his most recent fight with illness that we felt the toll. In the midst of victory, we felt defeated. Despite seeing miracle after miracle with Eli, we felt depressed and exhausted. There were no clever one-liners. No completeness. Just exhaustion. So what do we do? I've come to believe the answer is counterintuitive. Instead of pushing through to another victory, which once again will leave you unfulfilled, you need to rest. That's right. You need to take a break. I'm not saying you give up, move to the beach, and don't do anything else with your life. That's laziness. Not a solution. Instead, I'm saying that it's okay to be overwhelmed by success. It's okay to be exhausted from struggling. That's natural. But you do need rest. Your work is not done. Photo Credit: sampsyo

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