How we can explore our character development and personal values through examining stories of overcoming adversity
What are the circumstances that forged your character? What challenges have you faced that make you the person you are today? If you were a hero, what would be your origins story?
“People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
A hero’s origins story?
I heard the crack as my collarbone gave way. Surely this should not happen to a superhero. Where had I gone wrong?
Scroll back 30 seconds.
My cape billowed behind me. This was mainly because my Superman suit was too big and there was a draft in the hall. But the steely look on my face; that was 100% genuine.
The family was watching television, but not me. I laughed at their weakness. Mortals! They would watch greatness on the screen, but I would achieve greatness, right here in the hallway of our home.
This was no time for sitting around, I had committed myself to the rigours of disciplined training. I knew that if I was going to make an impact on the world – especially aged 6 – I needed to stand out. But I had to admit, that learning to fly was hard.
I had a method. In the hall was a big antique chair with strong arms and a soft leather seat. From the arms, I could launch myself to the stairs. Then I could turn on the stairs and leap back to the safety of the leather cushion. All I needed to do was inch the chair further away from the stairs after each successful flight. At some point, surely, I would be released from the habit of falling to earth.
Do you dream of being a hero?
Back and forth I went, time and again. My confidence rose. I felt the superpowers burgeoning within me; indisputably all they needed was some great need, a challenge, a crisis for them to burst forth.
I moved the chair a whole foot away from the stairs and mounted the launch platform once again. I surveyed the distant stairs with my steely gaze and set my sights on the third step. My expression hardened, my mouth set, and my teeth clenched. My muscles bunched in anticipation as I crouched and, with an incredible force, leapt into the void.
I felt the blood (or was that superpower?) rushing through my veins as I flew, my body outstretched. I could feel the air rushing past my cheek; had I reached escape velocity?
Building character through challenges, obstacles, and adversity
The horizon started to fall away. My speed was ebbing. The steps seemed so distant. My confident gaze was replaced by wide-eyed panic. My lofty dreams were about to crash into the unforgiving floor of reality.
Above the sound of the television, there was a large thump followed by a high-pitched yowl. The rest of the family burst through the door and into the hall to gape at the terrible sight of the fallen hero. There I lay; a diminutive blue and red heap at the base of the stairs, one arm held at an unexpected angle.
Hot tears of frustration and humiliation burnt my (noble) cheeks. To maintain my dignity and protect my battered pride I removed my hero cape for the journey to hospital. But as I sat there, quietly sobbing, I started to plan my return to my training.
I had failed to fly but I had proven my focus and determination. Deep down I wanted to be a hero to help people, I wanted to serve them, but I knew I needed more power (influence) to achieve this. And I also wanted adventure, so this was certainly not the last chapter in my trying to develop superpowers!
This light-hearted story holds some deeper insights. My core values are leadership (which is in essence influence), service (to others) and adventure (a love of challenge, exploration and risk-taking).
If you look at your own stories you can discover similar revelations about your own character and values.
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” – Helen Keller
The Adventure Journal or Notebook
Wherever I go, be that for work or on an adventure, I take a notebook. I prefer a plain hardback notepad that I can sketch in as well as take notes. I have filled many such books over the years, and they act as a journal of my travels, ideas and experiences. I enjoy taking them off the shelf and browsing through them, remembering places, or re-discovering my thoughts while exploring.
Therefore, when it comes to the idea of considering personal stories it is the picture of a notebook that comes to mind. In the Right Questions Toolkit, it is the journal that we take with us, to remind us of our story, and to allow us to record the next chapter of our adventure. It is the book where you are the hero of the story.
The Hero’s Journey: The 12-Step Story Arc
The Hero’s Journey (or monomyth) is a structured story arc, and common template, used by storytellers over the years, from authors of ancient mythology through to Hollywood screenwriters. If you think of tales of heroes, be that Odysseus or Luke Skywalker, Perseus or Katniss Everdeen, you can see the underlying similarities.
A 17-step structure was proposed by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With a Thousand Faces (1949) and this was refined into a 12-step process by Christopher Vogler in The Writers Journey (2007). But both templates are based on a three-act structure of:
- Departure. The beginning, where the hero leaves their ordinary life.
- Initiation. The middle, where the hero overcomes adversity to get a prize.
- Return. The end, where the hero returns home but with new wisdom.
The 12 steps of the Hero’s Journey with examples
Here are the full twelve steps that make up the 3 acts of the hero’s journey with some examples from well-known stories, taken from books and movies:
1 The ordinary world
First, we are introduced to the hero in their ordinary world. This life is often very normal, boring or unfulfilling.
For example, in Frank Herbert’s Dune, Paul Atreides is first seen on his home planet of Caladan before he travels to Arrakis. In Roald Dahl’s story of Matilda, we initially encounter the young girl amid her dysfunctional family, seemingly stuck in her situation.
2 The call to adventure
This is when the hero receives the call to a quest. This could come in the form of a message, a dream or vision, or a meeting with a mentor or guide.
In The Philosopher’s Stone, this happens when Harry Potter receives a letter inviting him to Hogwarts. In The Hobbit, Bilbo is visited by the wizard Gandalf who challenges Bilbo to go on an adventure.
3 The refusal of the call
At this point, the hero may refuse the call. This might be due to fear or being held back by other ties to the ordinary world.
Self-doubt plagues Frodo in the Lord of the Rings before he sets out. By contrast, Luke Skywalker feels he needs to stay and help his uncle and aunt in Star Wars.
4 Meeting the mentor
The hero then encounters a guide, helper or mentor. They offer support, advice, and guidance on the journey ahead.
Haymitch Abernathy is this sort of mentor figure to Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. Hannibal Lecter plays the unlikely (and scary) mentor to Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.
5 Crossing the threshold
The hero then leaves behind their known world. By crossing this threshold, they move into the unknown and start to encounter new experiences and challenges.
In the story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it is the stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia that signifies this moving from the known world to the unknown world. For Neo, in the Matrix, it is taking the red pill and getting unplugged from the simulated world.
6 Tests, allies, and enemies
Having crossed into the unknown world, the hero must now face a series of challenges, tests, and trials. Other characters are introduced along the way. Some are allies who provide support whilst others are enemies who give opposition.
For example, Harry Potter finds friends in Ron and Hermione but encounters an enemy in the form of Malfoy. Similarly, Oliver Twist finds allies in Mr Brownlow and Rose Maylie but is trapped by the evil Fagin and Bill Sykes.
7 The approach (to the inmost cave)
After various battles, the hero approaches the moment of greatest challenge or the innermost cave. This is often not just a physical challenge but the heart of darkness, which a hero must face their greatest fears.
One very literal example of this is in the film The Empire Strikes Back, where Luke Skywalker enters a cave and sees a vision of Darth Vader. Harry Potter, Indiana Jones and Bilbo Baggins are just a few others who end up in actual caves.
8 The ordeal
This is the peak of the tension, the moment when the hero faces their greatest ordeal. Here the hero must overcome a major enemy or challenge in order to continue their journey.
This can come in various forms. For example, in The Hobbit, Bilbo who is weak, has to face Smaug the dragon, who is strong. Whereas Superman, who is naturally strong, has to overcome Kryptonite, which makes him weak.
9 The reward
The hero, having overcome the ordeal, receives a reward. This might be knowledge, treasure, or a powerful object. This reward helps them continue their journey.
For Indiana Jones, the reward is a physical relic such as The Holy Grail, whereas for Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz, she gains knowledge, which gives her self-confidence.
10 The road back
The hero then starts the journey back. This is often not straightforward and there are often fresh challenges and obstacles to face.
In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus is constantly trying to get home but faces multiple trials along the way. By contrast, in the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen has a seemingly simple journey, by train, back to District 12, but the challenges are building in the background, ready to plunge her and Peeta into their next adventure.
11 The resurrection (or atonement)
The hero goes through a physical, mental or spiritual transformation. This symbolises the death of their old self and their rebirth as someone new.
In Alice in Wonderland, when the Queen demands her head, Alice realises the characters are only cards, allowing her to wake from her dream. Neo, in The Matrix, physically dies. He is killed by Agent Smith before being resurrected as The One.
12 The return (with the elixir)
The hero finally returns home, transformed by their journey. They now have an elixir – some new knowledge or power – that they can use to live a better life and help their community. This gives them new freedom to live.
At the end of Dune, Paul Atreides becomes the Kwisatz Haderach, with the power to see the future, and is therefore able to see the necessary course for civilisation. For Maximus, in Gladiator, the return is actually death, where he is reunited with his wife and child.
Tool: The Hero’s Journey
This template can be used to examine our own stories. Our character and values can be revealed through reflecting upon how we dealt with adversity in our past.
So, think about your story and the adventures (and misadventures) you have had to date. Which circumstances and choices have shaped you the most? You may have an actual journal or diary that you can refer to and remind yourself of some of these key times. I also find photos a good prompt for these important life stages.
Once you have identified a few significant moments in your life, times when you had to overcome obstacles and were shaped by this process, you can then use the following questions and 12-step structure of the Hero’s Journey to further analyse the experience:
Departure.
- What was your ‘ordinary life’ before your journey?
- What was your ‘call to adventure’?
- How did you initially resist or ‘refuse the call’?
- Who influenced you (which ‘mentor’ or advisor) to change your mind?
- What marked the ‘crossing of the threshold’ to start the adventure?
Initiation.
- Which ‘tests and enemies’ did you face along the way?
- What led to the greatest challenge (the ‘inmost cave’)?
- How did you overcome your ‘ordeal’ or struggle?
- What was the ‘reward’ or payoff?
Return.
- How was the onward journey, ‘the road back’, after the ordeal?
- How had you changed (as the new ‘resurrected’ self)?
- What did take from the experience and what wisdom (‘elixir’) did you gain?
Once you have worked through these twelve steps and questions, now consider:
- What does this story say about my character?
- Which tenets or principles guided my decisions through the journey?
- What is the most important value or lesson you can take with you into the future?
There is further to go on our journey and each obstacle we overcome gives us more character, resilience and wisdom for the adventures ahead. There will be further challenges in your life but you can choose how to deal with them. As adventurer, author and entrepreneur Yossi Ghinsberg puts it:
“Be the hero of your journey” – Yossi Ghinsberg
So, what adventure will you write with your life?
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