Welcome to Day 71 of the Wellbeing 9-a-Day blog! Over the next 10 days, I am going to look more closely at the Hero’s Journey, a concept that has benefitted me immensely on a personal and professional level. In today’s blog, I start by looking at the first stage of the Hero’s Journey – Normal Life.
The Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey is the story of transformation. It shows a person’s journey as they prepare for an adventure, transform, and then re-integrate the reward that set them on their journey in the first place.
The concept was first developed by Joseph Campbell, who outlined the Hero’s Journey as a narrative structure that was seen in all cultures across the globe.
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered, and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from the mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”
The Hero’s Journey still thrives in our culture today. In film and literature, we see Bilbo Baggins, Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter walk their own Hero’s Journeys.
Appealing to both children and adults, these stories have the power to move us profoundly. On a deeper level, we humans understand that challenge and transformation are central to our development as human beings.
While the Hero’s Journey is often used in storytelling, we can use the structure as a guide for our own transformations in life.
Whether learning skills and knowledge or implementing new behaviours, you have gone on many Hero’s Journeys in your lifetime.
Learning to walk was a Hero’s Journey, as was learning to ride a bike or drive a car. You went on a Hero’s Journey when you started your first relationship, completed a qualification, or started a new job.
By understanding the structure of transformation, we learn that times are often toughest before real transformation takes place. When life is dark, it offers a light to guide us on our way through our journey.
Normal Life
The Hero’s Journey begins in the Ordinary World, a place that is known to the Hero. Normal Life is a place of stasis, where change is needed, but the Hero doesn’t know it just yet.
At the start of the Hero’s Journey, the world is largely in balance, though the scales are tipping from order to chaos.
In myths, legends, and fairytales, this is the ‘Once upon a time…’ part of the story, where we learn who the Hero is and what problem will send them upon their Hero’s Journey.
In a Bond movie, this is where 007 is busy being a super cool spy with a penchant for beautiful women, just before M sends him on his next mission.
In Beauty and the Beast, Belle’s Normal Life is being a “beauty but a funny girl” in a little village, where Gaston has eyes on her for marriage, but she only has eyes for books.
When learning a new skill in life, Normal Life is where you are unconsciously incompetent – you do not yet know what you do not yet know.
Normal Life is where a quest of transformation is coming, but the Hero does not know it yet. For the Hero to break out of their routine, they must receive the call the call to adventure.
Call to Action!
Think about your favourite movie. In most cases, the main character will start the story going about their normal life so that we can see what life was like before their Hero’s Journey transformed them and the world around them. You will currently be at this stage for future Hero’s Journeys – you are just waiting on the call to adventure that will send you on your way.
This blog was written as part of a 90-day blog writing fundraiser for Live Well with Cancer, a volunteer-led charity serving North Tyneside and the surrounding areas. If you enjoyed this blog, please show your appreciation by donating to my JustGiving page. Every penny raised from donations or sales of the journal will help deliver workshops, events and support groups that empower better health and wellbeing for those affected by cancer, including family, friends, carers, and healthcare workers.
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