THE HERO'S JOURNEY - A METAPHOR FOR
MENTORING
By Linda Parkinson-Hardman
It has been said that there are only
seven stories that can ever be told and they are: Tragedy, Comedy,
Overcoming a Monster, Voyage and Return, Rags to Riches, Rebirth and the
Quest (or Hero's Journey). You will see these stories appear over and
over again in various guises, from classic fairytale to modern film.
They do naturally overlap, after all there are only so many experiences
that a human being can have, but they are also distinct in the lessons
that they impart in a wide variety of contexts.
The hero's journey happens to be a
great favourite of mine and I use it as a metaphor all the time with
clients, friends and colleagues because it is so rich in meaning. A
fabulous example of this in a book would be something like The Alchemist
or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Essentially it is a cyclical story,
that has a beginning, a middle and an end (as all good stories do), but
it is different in one major sense and that is that during the course of
the journey that the main protagonist goes on, they will overcome their
hidden demons and develop new strengths, emerging as a different person
by the time the tale reaches its conclusion. In the story, the hidden
demons are often portrayed as obstacles or barriers to their goal and
their strengths are often personified as friends that help them along
their way.
The reason I believe that this
particular story type is perfect as a metaphor for mentoring is because
it is about the developmental process a person can undergo and it can be
used to help anchor the points that a mentee reaches along the journey
they have been taking. Typically, a mentoring relationship will start
off with the idea of the goal that both mentor and mentee wish to reach,
the journey they take towards reaching that goal will have many ups and
downs along the way, together with many opportunities to learn and
explore both the goal and themselves.
After overcoming the difficulties and
learning the lessons (which could be training, finding out information
or even building new relationships and alliances) the goal is reached -
although often it is realised that the goal that is reached is not the
one that was the original aim of the work. The reason it changes is
because of the personal change and development that takes place along
the way.
What is the Hero's Journey?
The Hero's Journey originated in the
work of Carl Jung who was interested in the collective unconscious and
the themes that guide a society. This work was built upon by Joseph
Campbell in his work 'The hero with a thousand faces', in which he
explored the fact that all the stories, myths and legends of the world
have a common thread to them, regardless of the culture and civilisation
that they originated in.
The journey always begins with a 'Call
to Adventure', where an external event impacts in such a way that the
hero is required to make a journey. The hero then undergoes the 'Road of
Trials' - a series of adventures, misadventures and experiences that are
designed to teach valuable lessons (think Baloo the Bear of the Jungle
Book here ?!) As a result of the trials undergone and the tasks
achieved, the hero will eventually return (although maybe unwillingly)
to the starting point but as a free person, who now has the knowledge
and power needed to live clear and free.
Linda Parkinson-Hardman is the
Social Media Strategist for the Mowgli Foundation.The Mowgli Foundation,
www.mowgli.org.uk.,is
a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to harness the power of
mentoring worldwide - inspiring and nourishing entrepreneurship and the
building of sustainable economies through the creation of aspiration,
jobs and opportunity - towards the goal of alleviating poverty.
ISEC Founder, Krishna Kumar, is on the Advisory
Board of Mowgli. |
