It doesn’t take much to go from hero to zero…This statement is not a scientific fact or a formal theory – it’s simply a figurative expression that reflects how quickly fortunes or reputations can change.
I was deeply reminded of this last Wednesday, when we all watched in wonder how Donald Trump mercilessly confronted President Ramaphosa during his visit at the Oval Office. I have to admit, I have never been a huge Trump supporter, but in seconds, the American President went from zero to hero in my eyes. That moment when President Trump said, “Dim the lights!”, was mind-blowing! I really don’t want to talk politics; it just felt great witnessing someone with stature confronting our country’s leader, about all the disturbing ongoing issues in South Africa…
The whole “zero to hero” business also made me think about Mr Ramaphosa himself – our president is a prime example of how public opinion can turn on a dime. Do you recall March 2020, when we were going into Lockdown? I remember numerous posts on Facebook, envisaging our president as a superhero – Captain South Africa!
Alas. Today, five years later, most South Africans feel that President Cyril Ramaphosa continues to fail the nation with his reluctance to act firmly. Corruption continues, and unemployment and crime remain sky-high…
It doesn’t take much to go from hero to zero, especially when you’re in the public eye…Our beloved cricket captain, Hansie Cronje, went from being a national sports hero to a disgraced figure almost overnight in 2000, when he was found guilty of match-fixing. The business genius, Markus Jooste, who grew Steinhoff into a global retail empire, came to a sudden fall in 2017 with the Steinhoff accounting scandal. And our own “Blade Runner”, Oscar Pistorius, fell from grace in 2013 when he was convicted of killing his girlfriend…
We cannot help but think of Will Smith, the famous, once respected actor, who almost went from hero to zero in a split second, after that unexpected slap at the Oscars ceremony. And then of course, there’s Michael Caroll, the unknown lottery winner who became a charcoal delivery guy, only a few years after handling his prize the worst he could…
But luckily, the other side of this story is also true – the world is filled with people who have gone from zero to hero with remarkable true life-stories – JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, was a single mother living on welfare before she became a best-selling author. In 1964, at age 17, Jim Ryun became the first high school athlete to run a mile in under four minutes. This was seen as a superhuman feat at the time, and the achievement launched him into instant fame. Zero to hero.
We all love a good hero’s journey. “But what does all of this have to do with you and me?”, I can hear you ask. Everything! Because everyone of us, at some point in our lives, become a “hero to zero”/ zero to hero” story. We rise, we conquer, we shine – and then life happens. We make a mistake. We lose motivation. We miss a deadline. And suddenly, in our own minds, we go from hero to zero. Not because the world turned on us – but because we turned on ourselves.
We have all felt it – like we are on top of the world the one moment, only to tumble down to the next. Like we’re smashing it in the morning…and falling apart by the afternoon. Like we are winning at life…until we aren’t.
Life is kind of like being a professional football player…In football, each result can either be celebrated (or not) for a very short time. If you win the game, you get about a day to enjoy the victory, and then it’s on to the next game where you need to win and prove yourself all over again.
Same in life…each day, or month, or season, you shoot for a victory – being it making a huge sale, losing a few kilograms, winning a fitness Challenge, getting a promotion, and when that happens – great! For about a day. Because before you know it, it’s a new month, or a new challenge, and you have a new goal to crash, and suddenly what you did yesterday, or last month, doesn’t matter this month! And there you are – feeling like you’ve gone from hero to zero. Know what I mean?
But here’s the truth – we are often the ones writing that cruel headline in our heads. Or maybe we have distorted definitions of what success and failure mean, like if you’re not a winner, you’re a loser. Unless we change the way that we perceive success and failure, we’ll never feel satisfied with our lot in life. Maybe it’s time we flip the script, and tell ourselves, “I’m not a failure. I just failed at doing something.” There’s a big difference.
I think another problem is that sometimes we just give up too quickly. The famous American philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once said: “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he or she is brave five minutes longer.” (Please send this quote to Mirna before 20.00 today if you’re a Challenge member!)
Persistence pays off. Orville Redenbacher spent 15 years perfecting the corn hybrid used for his popcorn. Today he’s known as the famous popcorn guy. When asked about his philosophy, he said:
“Never be satisfied. Never give up. Be stubborn. Be persistent. There’s no magic formula. That’s it.”
It’s true – some people lose it all overnight, others become famous instantaneously. What do we take from this? You are not your lowest moment. You are not just your highest win either. You are what you do with both. When people say “from hero to zero” they often miss the part in-between: being human. That messy, unpredictable, beautiful in-between space where we struggle, learn, adapt, and grow.
If you’re in a low space right now, remember this: A bad day doesn’t make you a bad person. Gaining weight doesn’t cancel all the good you’ve done. One off day doesn’t cancel your progress. One “I can’t do this” moment doesn’t mean you can’t. Missing a goal doesn’t erase your discipline, heart, or worth. In the words of Zig Zaglar: “Remember that failure is an event, not a person…”
Heroes fall down. That’s part of their story. You don’ have to be famous to have a comeback. You just have to keep going. Keep showing up. Keep trusting the process. Keep choosing effort over excuses. Your story is still unfolding. So next time someone says, “hero to zero,” smile and think:
“Just wait. My best chapter is still coming.”
Yours in fitness
Mirna
082 779 0507