Looking for Meaning in Life? Embrace Your Hero Story
Humans love stories. They are much more than a form of entertainment. Stories play a central role in how we form and maintain cultural groups and pass down knowledge, wisdom, and morals. Heroes have always been a significant part of storytelling. From ancient myths to modern superhero movies, we love tales of heroism. For example, the most successful movies are stories focused on acts of bravery, sacrifice, or triumph over seemingly impossible odds, and five of the top ten grossing films of all time are in the superhero genre.
We are especially drawn to stories that highlight the deeper psychological characteristics that make someone heroic. It is awesome that Superman can fly and that Batman has cool gadgets and vehicles. But these are not the features that elevate them to superhero status. Instead, we admire these characters for their inner strength, their compassion for others, and their unyielding resolve to do what's right, even when it comes at great personal cost. Superhero stories make for some of the most fun and captivating entertainment on the big screen, but the stories that move us the most are of real people who have put their lives, reputations, wealth, or freedom at great risk to stand up for a righteous cause, defend the vulnerable, or pursue an ambitious goal in the face of great adversity.
Scholars have long argued that heroic stories, whether fictional or true, serve important psychological functions, including helping us in our quest for meaning. For instance, research finds that people evaluate heroic stories more positively if they are experiencing a lack of meaning in their lives and are looking to restore it. This suggests that we seek out examples of heroism when we are searching for meaning. Recent research offers guidance on how we can better utilize our own stories to enhance meaning in our lives.
The stories we consume, create, and share aren’t solely focused on other people. We are the protagonists of our own life narrative. Our personal story plays an important role in our self-development and growth. The process of crafting our autobiographical narrative helps us figure out who we are, connecting where we came from to where we are going in life’s journey. It supports our need to make sense of our lives, giving us structure and direction. This new research reveals how using a Hero’s Journey narrative structure can aid our meaning-making efforts.
First, a few words on why meaning is important. A sense of meaning in life is vital for both mental and physical health. It helps us cope with life's uncertainties and sorrows by making us more resilient and motivated to persevere. As a result, it reduces the risk of depression, anxiety, and maladaptive risk-taking. Moreover, it energizes us to be driven, creative, and compassionate. In short, meaning in life helps us successfully navigate life’s challenges and reach our full potential.
Now, to the new research on how we can improve our autobiographical storytelling to boost meaning. The first goal of the research team, led by Dr. Benjamin Rogers, a professor of management at Boston College, was to examine whether the Hero's Journey, a narrative structure identified by mythologist Joseph Campbell, is associated with perceptions of meaning in life. The Hero’s Journey is a story arc featuring a protagonist who faces challenges, overcomes adversity, and returns transformed. To explore the connection between this autobiographical narrative structure and perceptions of meaning in life, the researchers needed a way to measure how closely people's life stories aligned with the Hero's Journey narrative. They started by distilling Campbell's complex model into seven core elements that could be more easily identified in everyday life stories:
1. Protagonist: The central character of the story (oneself)
2. Shift: A change in setting or life circumstances that initiates the journey
3. Quest: A clear goal or mission to pursue
4. Challenge: Obstacles or difficulties that must be overcome
5. Allies: Friends, mentors, or supporters who aid in the journey
6. Transformation: Personal growth or change resulting from the journey
7. Legacy: How the hero's journey positively impacts others
Using these elements, the researchers developed a psychological scale called the Hero's Journey Scale (HJS). This scale included items like "I often think of my life as a story" (Protagonist), "My life has a clear objective" (Quest), and "I will have a lasting impact on others" (Legacy).
In their initial studies, the researchers found that higher scores on this HJS scale are strongly associated with higher scores on questionnaires that measure meaning in life. This relationship held true even when controlling for other factors known to contribute to life meaning. The researchers also found other psychological effects associated with meaning, such as greater life satisfaction and lower levels of depression. People who see more elements of the Hero’s Journey in their own lives view life as more meaningful and are psychologically healthier.
In another study, the researchers had participants tell their life stories in audio recordings. These stories were then rated by independent coders for the presence of Hero's Journey elements. They found that people whose stories contained more of these elements (as judged by the objective coders) reported higher levels of meaning in life and overall well-being. As the researchers noted, “those who tell their story as a Hero’s Journey perceive their lives to be more meaningful and experience corresponding benefits to their psychological well-being.”
These findings set the stage for the critical phase of research: could people be guided to see more of the Hero's Journey in their own lives, and would this increase their sense of meaning?
To answer this question, the researchers developed a "re-storying" intervention. Participants were guided through a series of prompts to help them reframe their life experiences in terms of the Hero's Journey. For example, they were asked to identify:
1. The characteristics and core values that define them (Protagonist)
2. A change in setting or novel experience that prompted their journey (Shift)
3. A goal they have been striving for that led them to why they are today (Quest)
4. Challenges or obstacles that stood in the way of their journey (Challenge)
5. People who have supported or helped them on their journey (Allies)
6. Ways they've personally grown to become who they are today (Transformation)
7. How they might leave a lasting impact (Legacy)
Participants who received the Hero’s Journey prompts, compared to those in a control group who were given more neutral prompts to frame their life stories, subsequently scored higher on the HJS and, critically, on measures of meaning in life and well-being.
It's worth emphasizing that meaning in life doesn't just make us feel better - it motivates us to do better. People with a strong sense of meaning tend to be resilient, strive for excellence, and serve others more readily. This suggests that a Hero’s Journey life narrative framing might create a virtuous cycle: by identifying our own hero story and enhancing our sense of meaning, we're motivated to further cultivate our own hero's journey, leading to even more meaning.
For instance, recognizing how we've grown from past challenges (the 'Transformation' element of the Hero's Journey) might motivate us to take on new challenges. Reflecting on our 'Quest' might renew our dedication to our goals or inspire us to set more ambitious ones. And so on.
While we're often captivated by epic hero stories involving superpowers or incredible feats that defy the ordinary, this research reveals something profoundly important: even more typical life trajectories involve ingredients of heroism that can help us appreciate and enhance the meaningfulness of our own lives.
We don't need to save the world from an alien invasion, slay dragons, or leap tall buildings in a single bound to be the hero of our own story. The challenges we face in our daily lives — overcoming personal obstacles, supporting our loved ones, pursuing our goals despite setbacks — all contain elements of heroism. By recognizing and framing these experiences within the Hero's Journey narrative, we can tap into a deeper sense of meaning in our lives and also find inspiration to continue growing, striving, and contributing to the world around us.
Every hero's journey is unique, and yours is still being written. Make it a story worth telling.
Have a great (and heroic) weekend!
Clay