I love the idea of "The Hero's Journey." This idea is a common template for story writing in which the hero of the story goes through a cycle of good times and bad.
When the hero of a story get's called onto an adventure for some fateful reason (s)he goes through a series of challenges that shape and evolve the hero. They learn and grow as they get molded from all the trials they have to pass through. In the end they triumphantly rise from the abyss transformed for the better and victorious in their quest.
So pretty much, a nobody goes on a journey, gets kicked to the curb so many times they want to give up, but instead they find hope, rise up, keep going though it sucks, learn some life altering self-reflection stuff, defeats the bad guy and does a happy dance. Yay!
Let's look at this picture depicting a typical Hero's Journey:
The Hero's Journey
As you study this image take a look at the things that have changed your life into what it is today.
What were your calls to adventure? Moving away from home, college, dating, marriage, kids, divorce, your first job, your first career choice, a traumatic event. For me it is all of these and more.
Who aided you in these adventures for the better? Once you started on that journey how did you start to learn, grow, and ultimately change?
What pitfalls did you have? What were the heartbreaking, soul crushing, epic fails that made you wantto give up?
Who came to your rescue? Was it a person? Was it a random video you saw in TikTok that sparked the fire in you to dust off your armor and put back on your crown?
How did rising up from that failure shape and change you? What do you feel and where do you feel it? Is it determination and you feel it in your clenched jaw? Is it peace and you feel it in your clear calm mind?
The cycle, or wheel, of the Hero's Journey never ends, it continues in different areas of your life to help shape and develop each of us. We go through peaks and valleys, castle towers and cave dungeons. We feel hope and joyful, we feel depressed and downtrodden, until we find that strength inside ourselves to rise up and continue, stronger and more able than before.