Do you have that odd feeling that there is more potential in you than you’re currently using in your life?
Well, of course, that’s a very simple question to ask because the human mind, body, and talents are literally infinite.
I don’t necessarily mean that anybody can do absolutely anything in the whole world. Obviously, that’s not true. There are limitations.
But I’m sure that you’ll not easily find a point in life when it’s true to say “I’m doing absolutely everything that’s possible for me.” Because our potential is huge!
I think we only use parts of our possibilities at any given time.
You can call that normal. It’s not a problem.
But – is what you are doing with your life so far satisfactory to you already? Do you think that’s it? Are you moving forward on your own unique journey in the way you want to?
What I want to talk about today is the fact that all of us evolve throughout the course of our lives – only we don’t always feel as if we are doing so!
Everyday tribulations often cover what it’s all about:
#1 Having a good life – well, what everyone thinks a good life is for them – this may include people you love, having fun, savouring each moment,
#2 Creating something new, living your talents in a way that’s satisfactory, even fulfilling, inspiring,
#3 Contributing something meaningful to the world.
Why does life much more often seem like a long list of to-dos you can hardly get through? To many of us it even feels like struggle and drudgery on many days.
I’m sure you sometimes watch a movie or read a novel.
Stories are all about some special event, happening to a person or a bunch of people. The heroes of the story.
Often they’re normal people, torn out of their everyday lives, thrown into some kind of adventure. Or special people setting out on a special quest.
And in the end, they’ve learned or gained something or done something crucial, not only for themselves but for their people, too. Nothing is the same anymore, and often they’ve touched something so much bigger than themselves, be it good or bad.
Our heroes have grown stronger, healed wounds, won fights: They’ve found love, or a tribe.
No wonder we like to read or watch these adventures!
It’s storytelling, pure and alive, like humans have done and experienced for thousands of years.
When listening to the stories, we want to know about these people. After watching or reading the first five minutes of a good story, we need to know what happens to them, even if we didn’t know about them a short while ago.
Now we identify with the characters of the story. What happens to them happens to us. We panic, we suffer, we fight, we laugh, we cry, we love, we grow, we lose, we almost die and then we survive and go on no matter what. And in the end, we win, we gain something important. It’s the elemental stuff life is made of.
And then we go back to our own lives, enriched and uplifted. Touched by the magic of adventure.
This really is about us
But we rarely think that this really is about us.
I think these stories are not merely an example of how things can go in lives that seem to be so much more splendid and meaningful than our own lives.
What I think is, that every one of us really is the hero, the main character in an adventure of their own. And I think by becoming aware of this, we can get a sense of coherence, of meaning and purpose that can strengthen us every single day.
So – how do you become your own hero?
By becoming aware of the fact that you already are.
It’s you, who’s feeling your feelings.
You who has wishes that need to come true in your life.
Who makes the choices.
You are the leading character.
What does this thought change for you, right now?
- Your decisions do count.
- Your wishes and goals and values form what happens.
- With your actions you are writing your life’s story.
Or as Seth Godin put it in a very short blog article Does it help? on March 25, 2018:
„Okay, you know how you feel, what you need, what you want…
This next thing you’re going to do or say: Does it help you get closer to that?“
(This is the whole article. But anyway, here is the link to the article on Seth Godin’s blog.)
More about your Hero’s Journey
Do you want to go into the Hero’s Journey further?
It’s absolutely worth it! Here’s an expert on the matter: You might like to check out Pat Edward’s blog page Exploring the Hero’s Journey.
You might also want to have a look at her wonderful book Exploring the Magic of Your Hero’s Journey. Pat is a great writer and speaker, and was my buddy in Barbara Sher’s WriteSpeak 2017, covering the Hero’s Journey in an animated and encouraging way.
Thank you for reading so far!
If you want to know what this site is all about, have a look at my Welcome article.
Stay tuned. I’ll try to post more English blog articles as soon as possible. Promise!
And here is the next article: How to Follow Your Dreams While Taking Care of Your Balance.
Yours, Jana
New to this blog?
Read my Start Here article. It contains a list of all English articles.
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