On Outsourced Heroism_
People have handed their heroism to a select few on a pitch — and the organizations that engineered it out of their own teams are dead long before AI kills them.
In the beginning of 2026, I published a new year greeting that included:
"We are all surrounded by heroes, in novels, movies, sports .. and it looks whether we are the hero or not, we always want to channel that mission energy somewhere"
I received a joking comment "I'm a modest guy, I don't want to be a hero, I just want to survive", my friend said. "Survival requires heroism" I responded with a wink.
Fast-forward 6 months in tough global events that put everyone to the test and we are at the world cup. We cheer, produce content, fight and hug. Solidarity at its best, some celebrate qualifying, some mourn an exit, us and them, you and the other. Observing how everybody engages, it looks like people have outsourced their heroism to a select few in the pitch.
The Unretired Hero
How we engage with football, seem to speak more for the craving, the repressed desire, the innate need to be heroic, identify with a heroic cause and feel like there is something to really go after beyond daily engineered roles, and repeating processes.
Reflect on the sensational feel of pride, possibility and energy you physically shiver with, when you or someone you identify with achieves a massive success.
How fueled and alive you feel? that same feel you experience in the middle of a movie, a story, where you see the protagonist going after the villain, the chase, the power, the caveat, vs how daily corporate life could be conditioning you.
The Walk-in
One good side is football normally doesn't half things, you have either won or lost, even in draws, that always mean something or will have to mean something.
No matter what is the pursuit, how tough, how impossible, you can always choose for yourself, you will either stand up for the challenge, or you will be defeated before you even step one foot in the pitch.
When you are heroic, you feel that the future can be better, and it's mine to make. When you are defeated, it just feels inevitable darkness that is continuously closer to devour you.
Each of these start points already chart out where you will get, and how you will see the journey at the end. Even in football, not all losses are equal. You can lose and feel you have given it all you can.
Life On/OFF
If all organizations are equal, set the same strategy, compete for the same segments, almost have access to the same tools, funds, what makes the difference? what makes the difference between the same departments, why do some teams look vigorous, energetic, unstoppable, while others seem like office zombies. They move ripped off soul, do the least possible action, to encounter the least possible blame as if they are self-scheduling for deletion by AI.
You may say, yeah it's all about psychological safety. Harlow's experiments did teach us how fear system shuts off exploration system. But it's not all about safety. Safety is more like the brakes, you need the burning fuel.
Heroism is something that drove nations for ages, made them fight atrocities and setbacks. It made each hero in his own field whether science, sports or war go after the cause, stand-up for it, walk every step of it in fear, and make it through, even if it meant dying for it.
The Libidinal Fireball
In a recent event, I created "the innermost cave" Experience as part of a hero journey event for a client team. Dark room, large screen, and a recognizable psychiatrist voice awakening the monster and monstrous libidinal soul within them. After we walked out, an executive came over to me and jokingly said "how are we going to manage them now if they became monsters against us?" while he was joking I know the truth in this.
The innermost cave — a dark room lit only by a large screen's glow, empty chairs facing it, the moment before or after, never during. No people, no faces. If red appears, it is a physical object in frame (a single red seat, a red cable on the floor), never a tint or overlay. Caption suggestion: "The innermost cave." Credit: The Studio.
Most organizations are designed so everything is predictable and everyone runs the same script, not less or more. Ironing out and optimizing deviations, but also life force, stance, energy and mojo. They hire them for the best that made them standout against rivals, then deplete them out of it.
Company teams are often driven out to channel their heroism through, football, gaming consoles, movies .. all where they can be heroes in lab-simulated setups, while the place that consumes more than half of their awake time, fights it, neutralizes it and castrates.
The Game You Opt Into
Heroism is often drained out because we fear it more than we know what to do with it.
Heroism is costly, taken on or left. How high of a game you desire to play, will decide which company and talent you want — the engineeringly defeated, or the charged cravable squad.
Survival requires heroism.
An empty floodlit football pitch at night, shot low from the grass, stadium lights burning against black sky — the arena after everyone has outsourced their part in it. One red physical object in frame (a captain's armband on the grass, or a single red seat among the empty stands). No people, no faces, no hands. Red is an object, never a duotone or overlay. Caption suggestion: "The outsourced arena." Credit: The Studio.
—Mahmoud
Read more from MahmoudMore to Read_
Adjacent threads. If this essay landed, these will too.
