WHAT YOUR CHILDHOOD HEROES REVEAL ABOUT WHO YOU ARE TODAY

As a young boy, my biggest hero was Tarzan – the Edgar Rice Burroughs version, not Disney.

I think it was his strength and confidence that made him so attractive.

Th fact that my older brother read the book to me aloud also played a big role, I’m sure.

It does beg the question:

Do your childhood heroes say something about who you are now?

The cover undoubtedly enhanced the attraction…

MAN ON A MISSION

Although the ape man no longer exists on my Mount Rushmore with John Lennon and Magic Johnson, I recently wondered what the strong attraction was as a child.

I do think questions that cause you to reflect on your personal history provide insights into who you are today.

In addition to his power, Tarzan was fiercely self-sufficient and resilient - more survival, less stress management.

Sadly, shipwreck on jungle coast is an obsolete storyline these days.

For that matter, living off the grid disappeared with the 20th century.

It went deeper than his strength and independence, though.

Perhaps it was the way he went about things with full conviction…

By the way, would you like to build lasting resilience and overcome challenges with confidence?

Join my LINKEDIN NEWSLETTER:

…Several years after my feelings for Tarzan I came across another character that carried himself with a similar conviction – the “stick to my principles or die” Howard Roark from The Fountainhead.

Come to think of it – it was the “no compromise” attitude that attracted me to the marvelous Midge “Mrs.” Maisel a few years ago.

A few days after writing this, I came across something that Carl Jung said later in his life that led him to build a stone castle on Lake Zurich.

I don’t remember the details of the exchange between Jung and mythologist Joseph Campbell, but what stuck with me was his belief that your childhood passions are the key to understanding what brings you joy now.

He loved playing with stones as a child.

Hence, the castle.

Not an exact mirror of my thoughts on childhood heroes, but pretty damn close.

Yes, we mature, accumulate experience and hopefully wisdom as we age – our heroes change, however.

A wall poster of Luke Skywalker might raise some eyebrows; one of Gandhi, probably not.

If you believe time is non-linear, like in dreams or other altered states, those childhood passions, including heroes, hold clues about who you are today.

Who was one of your early heroes?

What does it say about who you are now?

Sticking with the beautiful logic of Carl Jung –

What lost hobby or childhood passion would make your heart sing?

It might not be clear on first look.

Maybe not even the second.

Nevertheless, reflections like these can reveal who you are today.

I don’t know about you but I want access to this information.

Incidentally, revisiting your childhood is also fun.