The Hero’s Journey–Departure

What do Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Rocky all have in common?

Apart from being kickass movies, they were all influenced by Joseph Campbell’s 1949 book The Hero With a Thousand Faces.

Campbell spent his life studying the myths and religions of many cultures worldwide and found that they all followed a predictable pattern. He called this recurring theme “The Hero’s Journey,” where the protagonist follows a path from the departure from his ordinary home, through a brutal initiation of trials, until he returns back to his home with something momentous that he shares with others.

Although these stories are the stuff of movies, books, and plays, they reflect a common experience that all self-fulfilled people must go through many times over in their lives, and I think it has particular relevance to us guys.

In this day and age of 67% incidence of overweight, hysterical health gurus, and ridiculous exercise gizmos, we must all go through our own Hero’s Journey when it comes to health and fitness. Whether you are looking to shed 100 pounds, or are trying to bring your deadlift from 350 to 400 lbs, here is a timeless blueprint you can follow.

This first post will focus on the departure, or the hero’s transition from his home to his adventure.

The Call to Adventure

“Rocky, would you be interested in fighting Apollo Creed for the Championship?”

-Jergens, Rocky

Most of us lead lives of habit. We do the same things day in and day out. But every now and then, something happens that completely changes everything. We may see this at first, and we may not, but there’s no way we can ignore it forever. This is the “call to adventure.”

When I was in high school, I was the rocker kid. I had long, blue hair and played guitar in a punk band. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to turn me into the mad ladies’ man I was hoping it would. (Dang!) Since I played no sports and spent all my free time at band practice or playing video games, I was NOT in good shape. I was the “skinny fat” guy. It was also around this time that I started making these crazy goals for my life, such as running a marathon. Little did I know at this time that this was my call to adventure.

Maybe you’re finally sick of being more “beer belly” than “six pack.” Or your dog gets loose and, after chasing him down, you are embarrassed by how winded you get. Maybe you’re newly single and are looking to get back into the dating game. Whatever the catalyst is, every now and then you look in the bathroom mirror and say to yourself, “Damn, I gotta get in shape.”

Refusal of the Call

“Alderaan? I’m not going to Alderaan. It’s late. I have to get home. I’m in for it as it is.”

-Luke Skywalker, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Often when we are confronted with something that threatens the stability of our daily lives, our first reaction is to ignore or avoid it. This “refusal of the call” is a natural way of preserving our comfort.

I put off working out for a long time. After all, the ONE fitness center in my little podunk town was located in the school. What if I didn’t know what I was doing in there? What if I dropped a weight on my foot? What if I couldn’t even bench the barbell? Everyone would know about it! My friends and bandmates would see me. That cute girl in my pre-calc class would see me. And seriously, I’m the guy who wails on the guitar! I don’t belong in the gym with all these jocks!

Once you know you have to make a change to get what you want, you’ll realize that you have to change who you are. For most of us, our normal lives and identities are too comfortable to successfully challenge. We instinctively turn our backs on the elephant in the room in order to avoid this change. If you don’t face your fears head on at first, they will eventually catch up to you. Don’t feel bad if you’ve been refusing the call. Just get back in there and do the right thing.

Supernatural Aid

“You will go to the Dagobah System. There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi master who instructed me.”

-Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

One you commit to do something, a guide often appears. This is generally someone who has accomplished something similar to what you are trying to do, and has offered his help to you.

I’ve always been a big reader, so when I decided I wanted to start working out, I hit the books. I bought books on exercising and bodybuilding. I started searching the internet for information on how to build muscle (and ended up on many hilarious Geocities pages that unfortunately are no longer around).

My “helpers” were the authors of these books and websites that taught me how to bench press, the best abs exercises, and how often I should work out. (Yeah, yeah. I followed all the “bodybuilder-lite” crap material that is marketed to the average joes even though it doesn’t work for us, but it’s more important to get started than it is to find the right philosophy, after all.)

Books and blogs are an excellent way to learn how to cook, how to exercise, and how to just enjoy your life more. But you don’t need to stop there. Find a mentor in real life if you have to. Does your mom know how to make a killer pot roast? Ask her to teach you. Does your co-worker work out five times a week? Ask to become his gym buddy. Most people genuinely want to help others out, so don’t feel embarrassed to ask.

The Crossing of the First Threshold

“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”

-Morpheus, The Matrix

This is the point where theory becomes practice. Once you take your first physical action towards your goal, everything changes and there’s no going back to the way things used to be.

I still remember the first couple of times I worked out at the fitness center at my high school. All those same fears that held me back in the first place were still there, but once I walked in the door it was on like Donkey Kong. Sure, I was still a bit worried about making a fool of myself, but the fact that I was taking action and seeking knowledge from masters let me know that I was right on track.

Your fears are still going to be there when you take that first step. Just acknowledge it, and keep pushing forward. If you never leave your comfort zone, you’ll never get anywhere.

Belly of the Whale

“Now we must brave the long dark of Moria. Let us hope that our passage goes unnoticed.”

-Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Going from point A to point B is rarely a straight line. More often than not, you will need to hit rock bottom before you can climb to the top. This represents not a failure, but a temporary phase in your journey where you must face your greatest fears in order to grow stronger.

The first couple of times I worked out, I had to rush to the bathroom afterwards and vomit. If that wasn’t already embarrassing enough, I did it in front of one of my friends. I ran into him when I was working out earlier and acted like I knew what I was doing…

“Yeah dude, I work out all the time. What, you’ve never seen me in here before? Well, um… I usually come in earlier. Yeah, that’s it. ‘Scuse me, I need to run to the bathroom as fast as I can.” Hey, at least I can look back and laugh at it now!

You’re probably going to mess up the first meal you ever make. You’re probably going to overdo your first exercise session. Don’t sweat it. It’s never as bad as you think it will be. Worst case scenario, it’ll make a funny story eventually, when you yourself are a master.

You probably won’t lose 25 lbs of fat and gain 25 lbs of muscle in your first month working out. It’s easy to go into things with these lofty ambitions, but just because you get a reality check doesn’t mean you’re a failure.

In the next post, we’ll look at the second phase in the Hero’s Journey: initiation. Do you have any stories from your own “departure” on your Hero’s Journey for health and fitness?

Tagged as: joseph campbell, movies, mythology, rocky, star wars, the hero's journey, the lord of the rings, the matrix