Marvel and DC have been churning out movies for years now. For many reasons, the Marvel Universe is leading the charge in this genre. One of the main reasons is that they don’t just have the heroes face the obvious Super Villains. They also continually show their heroes struggle with the more difficult Super Villains that are hiding within themselves. Whether it is Tony Stark battling his own ego, need for control and alcoholism* or Captain America’s conflicting values of friendship with right and wrong; these are all battles that we as mere mortals can relate to. So what do you do when the enemy that you must face resides within you? Identify your foe. This is usually the most difficult step.
It’s easy to identify an alien invasion through a wormhole in the sky above New York. It’s a problem that needs immediate attention and the longer that you ignore it, the worse it gets. Often the same is true of our internal Super Villains but since they reside within us, we excuse them or think that they’re the reason we got this far in the first place. Regardless of the story that we tell ourselves, they are nevertheless an enemy. And you’ll need to do battle. Battling the villain inside is the more difficult and subtle battle. Drop a nuclear bomb on that villain and the hero dies too which is not what we’re looking for at all. So it requires deliberate thought and often daily work. Some of these villains can be tamed but others must be destroyed. So it is important to remember that you’re a starfish!
Of course I only mean this in the metaphorical sense. In reality, starfish can regrow parts of their anatomy that are cut off. In the practical sense for us, this is also true. You can “cut off” a band habit, poor thought pattern or addiction BUT something is going to grow back in its place. If you’re not deliberate about replacing it with something more constructive, the villain will come back and be stronger. So as you are doing battle with those things that you want to change about yourself, have a plan to replace them. None of this is easy but it is necessary to get you to the super hero status that you deserve. And that is usually first battle that people have to fight, BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE SPECIAL IN SOME WAY AND DESERVE BETTER. You won’t sprout wings tomorrow but maybe you can find another way to fly!
Suit up! And fight the good fight!
Pete
They are everywhere at the moment. With the explosion of the Marvel movies, Silicon Valley startups and overnight superstars plucked from the internet; origin stories are all around us. All of them, to a certain extent, are made up. The comic book authors crafted those of the super heroes. The others that exist in the real world cannot tell the story of every little thing that happened. So they have to delete and adjust to a narrative that aligns with how they want to be seen by the outside world or by themselves. Since all origin stories are created in one fashion or another, it may be helpful for your daily life to fashion your own. Not pluck it out of thin air but rather weave some real events of your life in with a narrative that propels you forward.
Huryk Unlimited 