Jeff Kubina

Superman had Lex Luthor.  Luke Skywalker had Darth Vader.  Joe Louis had Max Schmeling.  Ohio State has Michigan.  Even Bruce Willis in Unbreakable had Samuel L. Jackson.  What did each of these heroes have in common?  Right, a contradictory villain.  But not just a bad guy, but a worthy adversary that challenged them to do better.

Luke, I Am Your Motivation

In most fiction, the hero has a nemesis, an antagonist that provokes the hero into moving the story along.  Because, face it, without any bad guys to catch, Bruce Wayne would have no reason to dress up in that Batman getup.  He’d probably be in therapy, working through his issues.  The bad guy serves an important purpose.  He’s the contrast to the hero; the dark to his light.  He amplifies the good qualities of the hero by showing us his own dark side.

Who’s Your Baddie?

In the first Batman movie that starred Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, Batman tells the Joker “You made me first.”  Without the Joker, Batman needn’t exist.  The bad guy challenges the hero to do better, to transform himself, just as our competitors keep us on our toes.  Just look at how the Yankees and Red Sox try to one-up each other.  Or why Roman mothers would scare their children by shouting “Hannibal is at the gates!”  Your personal “bad guy” could take the form of a rival corporation, or a rival for your girlfriend’s affections.  It could even be a coworker.  The form of the opponent doesn’t matter;  that he exists in the first place is the real significance.  And the real gift.

A Swift Kick in the Ass

So someone challenges you.  How do you respond?  With your A-game, I would hope.  Because your rival has given you a very special gift: a swift kick in the ass! Ding! Ding!  The rival delivers your wakeup call.  He spurs you to action, forcing you to dig down deep for your unawakened skills.  He forces you to be prepared.  He’s the stimulus that you respond to that helps you grow, like Rommel was to Montgomery.

“The scars will take me far, they always do.” - Henry Rollins

Don’t blame an adversary for your shortcomings.  He’s a welcome obstacle, that will make you prove your mettle.  For, if you had no obstacles to overcome, how would you ever grow?  In order to grow stronger, a weightlifter adds more weight to the barbell.  The adversary provides that extra weight.  He makes you care.  A few battle scars are good for the character.

Friendly Adversaries

I’ve worked with several adversaries that have become my friends.  Sure, we’ve had our clashes, but we’ve also grown to respect each other.  We respect each other because we’ve never taken each other lightly, and our competition has brought out the best in us.  In a sense, we’ve made each other stronger in the long run by exposing each other’s weaknesses.  I’m sure that Woody Hayes was glad that he had Bo Schembechler to butt heads with for all those years, because they kept each other on their toes.

So thank those people that are the grain of sand that spur you to create a pearl; that raise the bar and force you to jump higher; whose mere being scares the hell out of you enough to think up new ways to beat them.  Thank them for the motivation.  But just thank them in your mind, not to their face.

Now, go out and stomp them!

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