A lot of our games are about heroes doing heroic things. (To be fair, a lot of our games are also about anti-heroes and outright villains doing very, very evil things. Heck, some are just about oddly-shaped blocks with absolutely no moral leanings whatsoever.) Often these heroic games are about a single character or small group single-handedly taking on an entire gaming-world's worth of enemies and problems using an assortment of impressive weapons and abilities. And that's what makes them heroes.

But what about in real life? What does it take to be a hero in real life? While some of us might first leap to ideas of saving nations, going to war, excelling in professional sports, or just generally being larger than life, the Heroic Imagination Project (http://heroicimagination.org/) contends that heroism can be something much more mundane, and attainable by anyone. A large part of heroism, it maintains, simply requires awareness, courage, and a commitment to the well-being of others.

The Project offers two small first steps we can take to develop the heroic capacities within ourselves. One, we can take the Hero Pledge, a straightforward affirmation to develop our heroic traits. Second, we can take the Hero Challenge, a four-week online course with four bite-sized lessons to raise our awareness of what it really takes to be a hero. Both of these can be accessed from: http://heroicimagination.org/take-action/. I would encourage anyone reading this, who is interested in being a positive force in the world, to check it out.

To everyone on GameSpot: Much Love.