We all have a hero, someone we look up to, if you don’t you should find one. The title reads ‘Not All Heroes Wear Capes’, and to me the saying implies that they are all perfect? Well then without further ado, welcome to yet another rambling blog post where I tell you guys a story and hopefully inspire you a little. Before I continue though, I need you all to understand that my hero means the world to me, and my hero has done nothing but set the bar high for me in the best ways possible, so here goes.

My hero is my mother, Penelope Stuart (A.K.A Penny). Not only did she give birth to me but she has also set some extremely high standards for me throughout my life. She has shown me the importance of love, how to appreciate everything I have, to always stand up and fight for myself and most importantly she has taught me the value in living the best life I can. Don’t get me wrong both my parents are my heroes for different reasons but this story is specifically about my mother. Now that I think about it perhaps at a later stage I could fill you guys in about my Dad and why he is my hero for all kinds of different reasons.

So a few weeks ago my mother decided to take part in an annual event in our home town, Secunda. The event is called the ‘Warrior Princess’, an obstacle course race undertaken in groups so everyone can help each other out. Not my mother though, she did it ALONE. Just in case you missed that I repeat she did an intense obstacle course, ALONE! If I have any international readers, this race is pretty much exactly the same as the famous Warrior Race, and I know from personal experience these events are no joke.

So you may be thinking it’s not such a big deal, I could probably do an obstacle course race. Let me paint a picture for you, my mother goes for daily walks and didn’t train at all for this ‘Warrior Princess’. When she told me “Wayne I have entered myself for this race and I will finish it”. My reply was the same as she would have given me, to “go for gold mom, but who is running with you?” She replied “no one” without a hint of self-doubt. I was blown away, amazed at her courage and after giving her a little warning from my experience with the race I wished good luck and begged her to let me know how it goes as soon as she finished. That is what makes her a hero to me, no fear. She saw a challenge she wanted to conquer and she tackled it, literally, head on.

When she was finished and freshened up a little I’m quite sure, she posted in our family group on WhatsApp, “I’m done with the Warrior Princess, I was adopted by a group of ladies, my body is a little sore and I have a few bruises here and there, but I’m done and it was amazing”. Now if this isn’t someone to look up to then I don’t know what is. She undertook the challenge alone, she had the courage to do so and when she needed help she had the courage to ask for that too. Of course my mother is someone I will always look up to for a whole lot of reasons, but this scenario took the cake. When I asked her what made her decide to do this race her reply was as amazing as I should have known it would be. She said and I quote “To be honest with you, I didn’t know what it was I just thought I would give it a shot. I like physical out door stuff”. She didn’t overthink it, she didn’t give any opportunity for self-doubt to set in. She decided she wanted to do the race, and did it.

In closing I would like to encourage everyone to do whatever it is your heart desires for these reasons, to name but a few: your own happiness, to achieve your goals, to attain success and possibly inspire others because you never know who is watching you and what impact you may have on their life. Choose the person you look up to wisely and make sure they inspire you to become a better person. Heck don’t be afraid to have more than one hero, but don’t base your choices on their external successes, pay attention to their traits that you wish to emulate. Of coarse no one is perfect but if they can change your life for the better in any way, then I would strongly encourage you to pay close attention to that person and learn all that you can from them.

Until next time,

Wayne