The Hero’s Journey

“In the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek” ~ Joseph Campbell

Key Events in the Hero’s Journey

Status Quo: This is where we start

1. Call to Adventure: An invitation to begin
2. Assistance: Help or advice from someone older or wiser
3. Departure: The hero goes from normal and safe and enters the adventure
4. Trials: The hero solves a riddle, slays a monster, or does some heroic deed
5. Approach: The hero face off against their greatest fear
6. Crisis: The darkest hour
7. Treasure: The hero wins and claims the reward
8. Result: Varies between stories
9. Return: The hero returns to the ordinary world
10. New Life: The quest has changed the hero
11. Resolution: All the plotlines get sorted out
12. Status Quo: The new normal

We are all on the Hero’s Journey. When it comes to health sometimes the call to adventure is an invitation from a friend, a subtle reminder by your spouse, or a visit to the doctors with some negative test results. To go on the journey you must answer the call.

Advertisement

Failure

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”~ Winston Churchill

Nothing makes me feel more inadequate than failure. A prime example of this is the work I am doing to drywall my basement. What could be simpler than measure, cut, screw, repeat? Plenty. For one thing, there is a giant difference between 1/2 and 1/8. Once you cut you either got it right or you gotta do it again. I have magled 3 boards in a row trying to get the electrical outlets lined up. I can only deal with so much failure. I only work an hour or two at a time in the basement until my ability to be punished by defeat is exhausted and I throw in the towel.

Love Yourself

“When you catch a glimpse of your potential, that is where passion is born.” ~ Zig Ziglar

Objectives, Purpose, Activity

I love Tony Robbins. He energizes me and makes me believe I can actually make lasting changes to my live.

When discussing healthy habits most people know what they need to do. Eat less and exercise more. Get more sleep and drink more water. Stay away from sweets and soda. The activities of a better health are obvious. So why do so few people who start a diet or a wellness program actually reap results?

Missing Objectives

Clearly identifying objective is key to change. “What do you want?” Losing weight is an objective, but might not be exactly what you want. I want to be able to keep up with my teenager. To do that I need to lose weight, but the real objective is quality time with my son. I also need to keep my sugars under control. The objective for cutting out soda is a long and healthy life with my family, not necessarily low sugar.

Missing Purpose

Purpose is the fuel for life change. The why to an activity is very powerful. A strong emotional tie to an activity correlates to completing an activity. Why do I want to live a healthy lifestyle? And who am I going to do this for? I want to feel good about myself. I want to be able to live long enough to see my grandchildren. I want to be a blessing to many generations of people. Generating emotion for an activity leads to completing an activity.

Missing Activity 

Finally, people do not complete life changes because intellectually they know what to do, but take no steps towards progress. Without clear objectives and clear emotional purpose change becomes a burden. Like anything difficult or new going back to old habits are comforting.

Listen to the video above. Does it resonate with you? Do you have a clear objective, purpose, and activity? Listen to Tony’s message an develop a massive action plan of your own.

To learn more about Tony Robbins please visit his web page tonyrobbins.com