Taking on the Hero's Journey

[Twinstar]

I know the Hero's journey has been beaten to death by now, but I still wanted to share my two cents on it:

 

The Hero's Journey takes the life purpose work and puts it into an emotional/mythological framework that resonates with your psyche. It's coming from Joseph Campbell and his studies of mythological stories across the world. By comparing them, he found a common theme throughout various cultures and stories. This framework is important because it is a perfect reflection of how your life will unfold. You are the hero of your own journey. Are you going to rise to the occasion like a Hero, or will you resist the call and struggle?

There are multiple patterns that will serve as a map for your own journey. You not going in blind, you know the basic phases that you will go through. This allows you to anticipate obstacles and challenges, but it still won't be an easy journey.

Basically, you have a protagonist that is naïve and living in the ordinary world. This protagonist is living a mediocre life, a simple life. Then one day, something unorthodox happens. An external event occurs, an object is discovered, some shocking news, a call to adventure. A journey is presented within this problem. The protagonist sees there is a call to action, a call to adventure. There's a rabbit hole to jump down, a ship to get on, and a fantastical adventure awaits.

But that seems too fantastical and impractical. There's no guarantee that the protagonist will gain anything from this adventure, there's no guarantee that the protagonist will even survive the adventure. So the protagonist ignores the call and carries on with their simple, easy, comfortable life. The event is ignored, and the object is thrown away. They were interested in the call, but fear and complacency keeps them stuck in their mundane life.

That initial call will plant a seed in the protagonist's mind, the dream of what could have been, the dream of being a Hero. The comfortable life they know has become so familiar to them, they can't picture a practical way of going on a fantastical adventure without jeopardizing their comfort. 

Then an internal event occurs, a longing for the actualization of the self, a desire to push boundaries and see how much potential the protagonist has been neglecting in order to fit into the comfortable life. This internal call to action makes the protagonist vision themselves as a hero and makes them wonder what could have been had they gone on that adventure....

In the stories, if the protagonist still hasn't decided to take action, a third event will occur. This third call to action will break down doors and flip the protagonist's life upside-down. It leaves them with no alternative but to pursue the call to action. This is a dramatic scene in a movie where the protagonist is cornered and is forced to say yes to the adventure. They see it is the right thing to do, and they accept the journey.

The protagonist has a specific goal, a holy grail, or a princess to save. They will face several hurdles, get lost, fight enemies, and have to survive on their own. There will be threshold guardians, which are tests to see if the protagonist is worthy of advancing on their journey. These obstacles are there to test the protagonist's resolve, to see if they are actually a hero, to see if they have what it takes to reach their destination. To know if they are worthy of the treasure they seek. It is not meant to be an easy journey, otherwise, everyone would be a hero.

The protagonist is not a hero yet. There are several threshold guardians that must be defeated in order for them to gain that title. They are just an ordinary person that is attempting to follow this call to action. A call that many have faced, few have taken on, and none have succeeded.

There will be several threshold guardians that must be defeated in order for the protagonist to break through to the next stage of their journey. Facing each guardian will result in either success or failure. It is the failures that determine whether the protagonist is a hero or not. It is failure that will offer them an excuse, a way out, a reason to give up and return to comfort. It takes a true hero to push through failure. To use the failure as a learning opportunity, and to try again. Only a hero will keep fighting until there are no more threshold guardians.

After these threshold guardians are defeated comes the final boss. Just the thought of approaching the boss is another obstacle. There will be fear, doubt, and insecurities. It was very difficult to get past the threshold guardians, the idea of taking on the boss is petrifying.

In order to take on the boss, the protagonist must first on themselves. This internal fight is what will crown them to be a Hero or will send them home. Overcoming their limiting beliefs and slaying their own inner demons is how the protagonist fully evolves into a Hero.

Once the hero conquers themselves and their inner limitations, they are ready for the boss. They have come out stronger from every threshold guardian, and they are no longer holding themselves back.

They fight the boss, and if they are a true Hero, they prevail, they get the holy grail. With the treasure within reach, the Hero sees the bigger picture. They realize it was never about the reward or the destination, it was about the journey. It was about the physical, mental, and emotional strength that was built up throughout the journey. The protagonist realizes the journey was not about the holy grail, but rather about discovering themselves and their true potential. It was never about rescuing the princess, it was about self-actualizing.

There is a new meaning in the holy grail. They can bring it with them and share it with others, along with their newfound wisdom. Their wisdom can encourage others to pursue the call to action and actualize themselves, but that is not required for the Hero to be fulfilled. The entire village might have been wiped out while the hero was away. But even if there is no one to help, the Hero will still feel fulfilled. They will know they went on an adventure that tested them and that they pushed themselves to their limits. They gave it their everything, there are no looming regrets. The hero can die happily knowing they did the most they could.

The Hero still wants to improve the world and be a light, and they will do so if possible. They want to make a meaningful impact with their wisdom and put it to good use.

 

This foreshadows your own journey and the obstacles you will have to transcend. Others will serve as a mentors to prepare you for this journey and the threshold guardians. Not all of them, but most of them. A lot of the work will fall directly on you, you need to become the hero. You cannot rely on the mentors forever, the inner demons must be faced alone.

 

Find a journey that is really worth your while. You have so much potential to become a Hero, as do many others. What will set you apart from them is finding a worthy cause, and becoming psychologically strong enough to face the threshold guardians and the obstacles. Become a proper hero that can complete the journey. Find your call to action, generate your journey, and see yourself as a Hero in the making.

Look for mentors along the way. Previous Heroes that have gone on their own journeys, or that are currently on a similar path. Learn from them what to expect, what to avoid, and how to succeed.

Prepare yourself for the obstacles you will encounter. Come up with a plan for dealing with threshold guardians. Think about how you will act when your resolve is tested. Come up with a plan for dealing with failure, a plan for getting back on track and trying again. Really want the holy grail. Want it bad enough that you won't quit. Find a cause worth fighting and not quitting for.

Fight your inner demons. Keep pushing until you are successful. Then keep going into the belly of the beast. Be prepared to face what you fear the most. Look for what is holding you back the most,  a fear of failure/rejection/embarrassment/poverty/difficulties/not being worthy. Descend into the depths of hell and slay these fears and inner demons. Don't be afraid of fighting them.

Fight until you are holding the holy grail. Then look back on your journey and see how far you've come. See how much you've changed and grown. See that you became a Hero. Live a life of no regrets by growing and exploring life. It is not an easy life, it is a rewarding and meaningful life. It is the life worth living.

Becoming a hero is what evolves life and society.

Be a hero with a strong vision, and a strong sense of purpose. Be willing to go to hell and back, and take on yourself before you take on the world. This high and noble purpose should inspire you to be all that you can be. Be proud of yourself and the work you are doing. Be proud of the way that you are living your life. There will always be a new journey, when one ends a new one begins. Remember the lessons learned from previous journeys and use them to better your odds of success going forward.

You will have very good reasons to not go fight dragons. It is not practical, it is not safe, it is not mandatory. Even then, you still need to be willing to bleed and die for it.

You will likely not get that third call to action that forces you on that path, nothing will force you to go on this journey of self-actualization. You will get the initial call and the internal call. That subtle longing deep inside of you needs to be enough for you to get up and pursue the journey. It will be rewarding and meaningful once you find the right thing to do.

To avoid some traps that lie ahead, learn to deal with threshold guardians by doing your research beforehand. Study maps of the territory and give yourself a fighting chance. Use the resources available to you to prepare for this journey, you don't have to go in blind. Know when to listen to mentors, and when it is time for you to branch out on your own.

Be willing to fight and slay your inner demons. That is a fight you will have to face alone. It will be difficult.

The final boss will be easy after you slay your inner demons.