The Hero’s Quest: Understanding the 12 Stages of Adventure for Self Development

Let’s talk about the most important person in the world.

It’s not someone on the TV screen, it’s not someone on the Internet. It’s not a politician, it’s not an athlete.

It’s…you. You are the most important person in the world from your point of view.

You are the catalyst and originator for any major change in your life.

Because of that, it’s very important that you get familiar with a quest (that you most likely are already on).

That quest is “the monomyth” or “The hero’s journey”. It’s a quest that will help sharpen the sword of your life and allow you to face any obstacle you encounter head on.

In this article you’re going to learn:

• What exactly is the hero’s journey
• The different stages of the journey
• Being the archetypal hero in your life
• Things to be aware of in the journey
• How to integrate this philosophy into your own life

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Answering the Call: What Is the Hero’s Journey?

The hero’s journey is just what it sounds like: a grand undertaking performed by someone of interest (a hero).

It’s a scenario where the main character or protagonist of a story embarks on a quest full of danger and discovery, ultimately emerging as a different person than the one at the start of the journey.

By its nature, the journey involves trials and tribulations that change the very consciousness of the person who undergoes it.

Simply put: the hero’s journey is a necessary journey for all of us to go on regardless of who you are or where you’ve come from.

The Hero Archetype and Jungian Psychology

In the early 1900s, a Swiss psychoanalyst named Carl Gustav Jung or (C.G. Jung for short) developed a system known as analytical psychology.

This branch of psychology is heavily centered around archetypes, which is a universal image or motif embedded in the human psyche.

In other words, think of it as a pre-existing mold that guides actions, behavior, and character traits.

An example would be the character archetype of a “bad boy”. “Bad boys” come in all different flavors and backgrounds, but they still follow the same mold. Same goes with a “nice guy”.

When we talk about the hero’s journey, we are talking about a journey ultimately grounded in an archetypal cornerstone, meaning it has deep roots in human consciousness.

The journey from “zero to hero” or “boy to man” is something that has been repeated endlessly in various different cultures, stories, and movies from time immemorial.

Archetypes are something that goes very deep, but in this context, it is a universal journey that touches the core of the human and masculine soul.

Joseph Campbell and Archetypal Foundations

“The usual hero adventure begins with someone from whom something has been taken, or who feels there is something lacking in the normal experience available or permitted to the members of society. The person then takes off on a series of adventures beyond the ordinary, either to recover what has been lost or to discover some life-giving elixir. It’s usually a cycle, a coming and a returning.” – Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces

Joseph Campbell is another cultural touchstone who used archetypes to explain the hero’s journey and why it is so quintessential to the human consciousness.

In fact, he can be thought of as the one who pulled the hero’s tale from its murky esoteric surroundings and exposed it to the light of mainstream thought.

His book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces was one of the first books to use the archetypal psychology developed in part by Jung and use it as a roadmap for navigating the mental landscape of modern life.

The 12 Steps of the Hero’s Journey: The Hero Cycle Explained

The Hero’s Journey via Rebecca Ray, Storyboard That

The hero’s journey is a circular episodic drama that happens in stages with subtle gradations.

These stages have differing steps, each with definitive landmarks. This cycle is something that is seen in every quest large or small, and every person, old or young. This happens in 12 stages. What are the 12 stages of the hero’s journey?

Well, the 12 stages are as follows:

1. The Ordinary World – If ignorance is bliss, the hero is living it in. In this stage, the hero is unaware of the tasks that lie before him and what is required of him to complete them. At this stage, he is clearly mortal with specific character traits that will help or hinder him in his journey.
2. Call to Adventure – Like a clarion signal that flashes across the night sky, the hero knows this is the time to pick up his metaphorical sword and shield and thrust out into the world. He must confront a challenge that threatens either him and his way of life or his immediate loved ones. It will push him out of his comfort zone.
3. Refusal of the Call – The hero may encounter a blow to his self-confidence and sense of self-worth. He will then doubt himself entirely. He may head home with his tail tucked between his legs, wishing this was all a bad dream.
4. Meeting the Mentor – At this stage of the hero’s journey, the hero will encounter someone who can offer guidance and counsel. This may come in the form of a past hero who completed his own hero quest or someone who was near the end of the quest and failed to complete it. This mentorship will dispel his doubts about himself and give him the second wind to continue.
5. Crossing the Threshold – For many heroes, this is the point of the true beginning. Often a point of no return, it can symbolize the hero’s willingness and commitment to complete his quest.
6. Test, Allies, Enemies – This is the juicy part of the story. At this point, the hero meets his allies and adversaries in the form of intangibles such as shadows from the past or tangibles such as another companion on the journey. Each of these tests and figures will challenge and sculpt the hero in their own way and define his character even further.
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave – “Inside the cave you fear to tread lies the treasure you seek”. This stage gives meaning to that statement. This is where the hero will make a leap of faith into the unknown and test himself.
8. The Ordeal – This is a dangerous test that must be faced and defeated in order for there to exist a world in which the hero continues to exist. At this point, it will take everything the hero has to emerge victorious.
9. Seizing the Sword – The hero is then rewarded a prize for defeating his Ordeal. It may be in the form of great power, secret knowledge, reconciliation with himself or others, or even a fair maiden.
10. The Road Back – This is a reverse call out to the beginning of the journey and he will need one final boost to return to his previous world. At this point, he may choose between a personal objective or a higher calling.
11. Resurrection – This is a climax where the hero will have his final encounter – death itself. The battle also represents a far reaching consequence concerning his return to the ordinary world. At this point, he will emerge victorious or literally die, but this stage is a transformation.
12. Return With the Elixir – At this point, the hero returns home to his ordinary world a changed person. He is not the same and his life afterwards will never the be same. He often gains a large degree of self-acceptance and self-awareness of himself and his world around him.

Masculine Psychology and the Hero Archetype

Deep down every man wants to be an effective force in his life. He wants to have passionate relationships, a life of adventure, and lots of masculine energy.

The hero’s journey is required in some sense for the boy to become a man.

In times past, there were rites of passage for emerging men, usually which followed the hero’s quest more or less. Today, there are no real rites of passage, but that process of becoming a man is still necessary

Many modern men are accepting (even willing) to forgo this journey and watch other people live life.

Because many men have fallen to the ease in modern society, they have the mental and spiritual effectiveness of a boy half their age. They are literally stuck in some sort of “stasis” adolescent period.

So let’s say you are willing to go on this journey. That’s great. But as with any hero’s journey, there are some dangers on the path.

Dangers to the Journey

There are some uniquely modern dangers that threaten even starting the journey. Here’s a few of them:

Downplaying the Importance of the Call to Adventure

We live in the safest society that has ever existed, despite what people say on the news and such.

Our society is the accumulation of the work of millions of people past and present.

Because of this, we feel as if our life should be one of ease. We don’t really need to do hard stuff. We don’t need to go on the hero’s journey. It just isn’t that important – some would say.

If you fall into this trap, you risk the frustration of your innate potential and the chance that you will live a very stagnant life.

Spectatorism

It is better to blend in than to stand out. As a spectator, you can watch other people take the fall and take the blame. You can live a safe, comfortable, and passive existence due to the conveniences of our modern society.

But as just mentioned in the point above, you will most likely live a life of stagnation and lethargy because you aren’t “the man in the arena” who is consistently taking action and moving towards an ideal.

Lack of Crisis

“The drive to relieve discomfort is the root cause of all our behavior, while everything else is a proximate cause.“ – Nir Eyal, Indistractible

Simply put, there is no urgency to do anything in life. Everything is already provided. There is no drama, no climax, no real sense of impending destruction that will arouse his latent capacities.

Even if you aren’t necessarily in a super well-off state, chances are low (especially if you’re reading this) that you’re in a state of scarcity and abject survival. You aren’t hard pressed for day to day necessities, even if money is a little tight. It’s something you can live with.

As Nir Eyal said in his book Indistractable, all behavior is a desire to relieve tension or pain. If there is no pain, if there is no tension, it will be very difficult for you to act much less go on the hero’s journey.

To circumvent all of these, you have to be willing to be the hero in your own movie.

Wrapping Up + Conclusion

If you want to get the max out of your life, you have to be willing to be proactive and pragmatic in your life. Seeing yourself as the center at the massive chain of cause and effect helps you to be less compulsive and more conscious about your actions and effect on other people.

The mindset that every action you take may save the world or damn it depending on what it is will give seemingly minor and innocuous actions heavier weight.

If you feel like the world is waiting with bated breath for you to “do good”, it makes it much easier to “do good” whether that be in the form of volunteerism, making more money, or having productive conversations with other individuals.

If we all brought a quality of responsibility to our lives, it would have a ripple effect that would spread out amongst the world and change it for the better.

This is where the desire to save not only the world but yourself comes into play in the hero’s journey – being an asset to people instead of a liability.

The hero’s journey is ultimately a journey where you think in terms of solutions instead of problems and progression instead of regression.

It’s one where you will ultimately become a different man than the one who started it. IF you decide to take it.

Do you?