Your Life as a Hero’s Journey: Finding Adventure in the Everyday
Simplified 7 step hero’s journey, as studied by Researchers at Boston College and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Image created by Kaileigh Hubbard (Finding Human Project) using Canva.
We cruised the five-lane thoroughfare, strip malls zipping by, as I planned tonight’s dinner. Did we use all the meatloaf up yet? I could mix it with mushroom soup and-”
“Wasn’t that a field last week?” My middle daughter’s voice interrupted my haute cuisine plans.
I barely got a glimpse of a tyvek-sided wooden frame zipping by, and sighed, “Yes, sweetie, it was.”
The mounting traffic, stripmall mushrooms, spreading asphalt, and crime in our city wrung my soul dry. My kids had no chances to explore the “woods” I’d grown up in; no chance to build forts, pack snacks, climb trees, make up AWESOME stories, fly with dragons….(dragons love Oreos, btw)
A magical place filled my mind; a little town where mountains towered, forests smelled of pine, glass-green streams bubbled, and you just knew dragons were near.
We spent weekends driving around, exploring places, looking for… I didn’t know what.
THAT was my call. I didn’t know it, but couldn’t leave it alone. It tugged at my heart; but I had no idea what “It” was, or where it would lead me. This city was our home, I couldn’t leave.
Or so I thought.
You don’t have to sail across oceans or picnic with dragons to be inside a great story.
Your Hero’s Journey is already unfolding inside your everyday life — through your decisions, frustrations, dreams, fears, and transformations.
It often lives in the dream that scares you, or in the awful event that feels like a nightmare. It can dance with the mundane, calling to you while you try to tackle laundry mountain.
Can’t figure out what to make for dinner for the umpteenth time? Hero’s journey. Scared to tackle your taxes? Hero’s journey. Laid off your job? Hero’s journey. Auditioning for a community play when you’re terrified of the word “audition”? Hero’s Journey.
Big or small, our hearts hide, we tease them out, brave our fears, and in the end, we grow. We may be broken and grieving, but buried in that narrative is a magical gift: resilience.
Humans have been in love with the hero's journey since our ancestors began telling stories by firelight.
Turns out, our ancestors were on to something. Researchers at Boston College and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that when people re-storied their own events, viewing challenges as hero’s quests, they found more meaning and well-being in life.
Joseph Campbell’s work “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” labelled our cyclical stories “The Hero’s Journey”. The steps can be many, but Finding Human Project is here to simplify it for you.
In this series, I’ll walk you step-by-step through a 7-part cycle version of the classic Hero’s Journey — blending ancient storytelling wisdom with modern creative living.
7 steps of the modern Hero’s Journey - image by author, Canva AI and stock images
For each step, I’ll share my own examples, and offer some journal prompts and exercises to get you thinking.
Ordinary World - What was life like before this “call”? While this is the start of the story, our series will actually talk about this second (in a playful order!).
The Call - How life invites (or sucker punches you) - and you’re never ready.
The Quest - Ok, you’ve answered the call, now comes the exciting part!
Allies and Anatagonists - No true hero’s journey goes smoothly. There are things/people who help and/or impede you. BOTH help you grow.
The Deepest Challenge - this may be a defeat, at the very least, it will be the dark place you don’t want to go. On the other side of the darkness ?Transformation.
Growth/Elixir - what comes out of that dark cave, and what do you bring with you? Someone stronger, even through defeat, and often with new tools.
Return and legacy - bringing back lessons and aid to the world left behind. How can we all contribute?
Each part will help you recognize the adventure you’re already on, and ones you’ve had in your past... and maybe, take your next bold step with more courage, curiosity, and joy. Our hope is that this work helps you see your own growth and gives you tools to bring it to others.
Hit reply (or comment) and tell us: What call are you hearing right now?
See you at the call!
Are you a Washington Educator?
We’re offering a free two-session (4 hours total) clock hour OSP- certified online training on the 7 step hero’s journey. Sign up here.
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