Last week, I wrote about how Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings can help you in your fitness journey by talking about Joseph Campbell and The Hero’s Journey. For those who missed it, you can check it out here.
Turns out you bro’s happen to dig The Hero’s Journey. So much so that a decent number of you reached out to me to tell me how much you dug Campbell, Star Wars, and how that sort of teaching can apply to each and every one of us.
But that post was a bit ambiguous. It talked a lot about The Hero’s Journey, and how it might apply to a mythical situation involving fitness, which is great and all. But I don’t want to leave it at that.
We’re going to take a look at a very personal example of The Hero’s Journey involving fitness and a goal, specifically my own Hero’s Journey that is going on right this moment.
It might be overkill to talk about all 12 steps, and since I’m being extra meta right now by talking about my journey while on it, I can’t accurately talk about each and every step. Instead, we’re going to look at a few pivotal points on the journey, what I’ve done during those points, and where I’m hoping to go.
Where it all began.
As a Fitness Professional who helps people get really really ridiculously good-looking part of my job is looking the part. Nobody wants to hire a fat trainer. Herein lies the problem. I’m a relatively average looking white dude who isn’t particularly huge, and isn’t super ripped.
But I am relatively strong for my size, thanks to spending the past few months focusing on building my big three lifts. If you’ve ever trained for strength you know that you need to support that. And eating is something I excel at.
Now that we’re in January though and spring is right around the corner it’s become a goal of mine to get to sub 10% body fat. I’ve done it before; I know what goes into it. I know that it requires work, and that it isn’t easy. But it’s something I wanted to do for myself, and to put myself back into my clients shoes to better understand their struggle.
Which is the exact reason I decided to turn this into my own Hero’s Journey.
- My Ordinary World.
I was living in my ordinary world for the past few months. Eating whenever I wanted, getting strong, and loving every minute of it. But I knew for my own personal development and the development of my business something greater lie in the distance.
- My call to adventure.
This is my desire to put myself into my clients shoes and get back below 10% body fat.
- The refusal of the call.
Look, getting below 10% body fat after a certain age takes some work. Dieting isn’t all fun and games, despite what IIFYM Instagram models might tell you. I spent a lot of time wavering on whether or not I really wanted to go through this. Ultimately deciding that it was something that would benefit me personally and professionally.
- Meeting the mentor.
After talking with a friend of mine who is also a Fitness Professional named Jason Helmes, it turned out that we were actually looking to do the exact same thing. There was my mentor. Only in this instance we would function as each other’s mentor and accountability. If you’re embarking on a journey, especially fitness related, it’s important to find your accountability.
- Crossing the threshold.
I’ve accepted what I want to do. The threshold has been crossed, and Operation Sexification is in order.
- Tests, allies, enemies.
Holy shit. These exist everywhere. They all detract from your journey. Trying to prevent you from reaching your goal. It’s your job to confidently tell these people to fuck off. You’ve got big things you’re working on.
- Approach.
This is currently where I am. I know that ordeals are coming (Super Bowl, birthday, conferences) that are essentially diet minefields. All of these are tests, and it’s my job to figure out a way to accurately maneuver these tests while still chasing my goal.
Like I mentioned, this is my own personal Hero’s Journey to drop fat. Yours could be the exact same thing, it could be lifting a certain weight, or it could be a business goal (I’ve got one of these going on that I may write about later on).
It doesn’t matter, what matters is that you apply the steps of The Hero’s Journey to your own personal situation. It can illuminate just where exactly you are, reframe how you view road blocks, mentors, and other people in your life. Most importantly, it can help you kick more ass in life.
Go be your own Hero, bro’s.