Heroic Vocabulary
In my heroic coach program, Michael sent out an email saying "we often get feedback that it takes a little time to get used to the terminology we use in the Heroic Coach program"... "take a stab at defining the following terms for YOU in your own words".
Here goes nothing.
1 - Eudaimonia: "good soul". This is a state of being when you're living in integrity with your highest ideals.
2 - Arete: It's another word for virtue, but with an added connotation. When you close the gap between who you could be and who you are being, you live with arete. This is a moment-to-moment decision, in the space between stimulus and response.
3 - Daimon: your inner genius. Your conscience, your higher self. Inside you have two voices, your daimon, and your demon. The demon is a.k.a. part X. Your daimon is a vision of your best self.
4 - Hero: A protector who has the strength for two. A hero's secret weapon is love. A hero goes on a journey, faces challenges, and returns victorious with a boon.
5 - Virtue: Traits and characteristics that are noble and admirable. There are 5 universal virtues that lead to flourishing, and we each have a unique top 5. Mine are self-regulation, love of learning, leadership, honesty, and love. My most important one and deepest held value is commitment.
6 - Wisdom: One virtue, of which the others are said to be an expression of. Wisdom is the knowledge of how to live well.
7 - Discipline: Self mastery and the ability to be in control of your thoughts, actions, words, and ultimately your life. The ancient philosophers called it 'temperance' but it goes beyond just moderation in eating and drinking. It's the practice of living the way you decided to live (rather than defaulting to your impulses).
8 - Courage: Doing what needs to be done, regardless of how you feel (weak, tired, lazy, afraid, uncomfortable). Just get it done.
9 - Love: The ancient philosophers called it Justice. This represents what is fair and right. Love can have different scopes... self-love, romantic love, family love, plutonic love, loving your work, loving micro-transactions, and ultimately amor fati - loving all that is.
10 - Hope: Hope has 3 parts. A belief that the future can be better than the present. A sense of agency, that you are capable of influencing the future. And multiple pathways or plans that you can use to exercise your agency.
11 - Gratitude: The quickest way to improve your emotional outlook is to keep a gratitude journal. Even better you can do a gratitude meditation where you just let gratitude "flow". You focus on any stream of things you're grateful for. Just let the river flow.
12 - Curiosity: The virtue that helps you seek more wisdom. Curiosity spurs you to discover more. It is the aroma of the pie in the cartoon. The mesmerized cat will float like a ghost in the direction of that heavenly scent. Just as you will be drawn to know more about the things your curiosity is leading you to.
13 - Zest: The number one indicator of emotional well being. Your zest is the tendency to want to move. To energize.
14 - Antifragile: The opposite of fragile. There's fragile, resilient, then antifragile. The more you get kicked and beaten the stronger you get because OMMS. Fall 7 rise 8.
15 - Confidence: Extreme trust. Not trust in the future working out. In yourself to deal with life's challenges.
16 - Protocol: Your protocol is the procedure you're committed to. If-then type stuff, where you have predetermined the response you'll take to a foreseen action or event.
17 - Response-ability: The ability to respond. The belief that you can choose your next step, go between stimulus and response, and be the one accountable for taking action.
18 - Emotional Stamina: The level of punishment you can take and still get back in the boxing ring. The amount of resolve you have. Determination and willpower to keep going when similar challenges might deplete another person's emotional reserves.
19 - Exonerated: The time when you get excused from obligation and challenges. The time when life gives you a free pass. You will never be exonerated.
20 - Challenges: Challenges are fuel for the fire. The inevitable difficulties that come as part of your life. You can either avoid challenges or you can face them. BRING IT ON!
