Are you the hero in the story of your life?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Humanity across cultures has always been fascinated by mythologies and hero archetypes of various shades.
A number of Indian and international blockbuster movies in different eras have effectively tapped into the power of myths and archetypes to find popular appeal. Before you read further, take a moment to ask yourself, “Who would star as the hero character in the movie of my life?" “What are the traits they embody that you identify with?" A study published in the Journal of Personal and Social Psychology in 2023, Seeing Your Life Story as a Hero’s Journey Increases Meaning in Life, shows that whether your answer to the above question was Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Arjuna, Karna, or Draupadi, seeing your life through the lens of hero archetypes can have a significant impact on your well-being by helping you find meaning in life.
Research indicates that by the time we are in our early 20s, most of us have constructed a narrative identity, i.e, an internalised and evolving life story, that explains how we became the person we are, and where our life might go in the future. The stories we tell ourselves about our lives influence how alive and purposeful we feel.
World renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell in his seminal work, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, published in 1949, provides a structure for heroic journeys in mythologies and blockbuster movies, which he describes as a monomyth, i.e., a singular template of transformation. At its most basic form, a hero responds to an inner calling and goes on an adventure, emerges victorious from a defining crisis, and then returns home changed for the better.
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