It often feels like the new year starts with a bang, but the pulse I'm picking up from those around me is a slow burn vs. a bang. Personally, I'm feeling fired up and ready to go. I'm excited about what's new and what's next. It's unsettling when the energy around me is moving at a slower pace. I was recently in an annual planning session led by one of my coaches and mentors, Patrick Mosher, founder of Wisdom 4 Humanity. We began with everyone sharing their perspective on the pulse of the world. The theme was consistent around the (virtual) table – the pulse feels cautious. People are seeking comfort. Bewildered, I blurted out "It's the hero's journey, not the hero's vacation!"
When the world is cautious and everyone is contracting inward, that can be an opportunity to expand and move faster toward our life missions. We talked about this as a group, and the idea definitely resonates with me. After the coaching call I realized something else too. My theme word for the year is "flow," as in going with the flow, not fighting life, accepting what is, not resisting, working with the universe. Hmmm, with that in mind, maybe there's something to the hero's vacation after all.
This week, I opened myself up to the idea that more "being" and less "doing" could be exactly what we all need right now. I've been running hot. Lots of change in my career, closing one chapter and opening another. Holiday madness. New Year. Wild world. Lots of plans brewing. If you're feeling the same, consider this: What would a hero's vacation look like? And, in the course of our own life journeys, when does an everyday hero need a truly epic hero's vacation?
The Hero's Journey
If you're not familiar with the phrase, "the hero's journey" came into our collective conscious when Joseph Campbell published his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The book introduces the theory that myths from around the world share a fundamental structure, the monomyth. This storytelling structure is shared across all cultures and has likely inspired every superhero movie you've ever watched. I won’t get into a comprehensive breakdown of the journey here. Unless you’re making a superhero movie, you don’t need that level of detail. There’s plenty of great information out there for the Googling, if you want to explore more.
What makes the hero's journey interesting to me is that, whether we're aware of it or not, we're all on our own hero's journey. That's why the story structure resonates innately for all the humans. The hero's journey gives us a way to understand our own tests, trials, and progress along life's journey, as well as connecting us to the shared human experience. The journey is heroic, because it’s hard. The journey of fulfilling our life's purpose – coming into our power as individuals and becoming the people we’re meant to be – takes extraordinary courage. It tests us and fundamentally changes us.
The archetypal journey begins with a “call to adventure,” which we all refuse initially because it’s way more comfortable to stay where we are, but the universe calls again, and will keep calling and escalating the urgency until we accept the challenge already. When we do accept, a mentor or teacher(s) shows up – generally just in time, because that adds to the drama of it all. The mentor helps us learn what we need to learn. With this timely help, we cross over from our safe, ordinary world to a new world that’s unfamiliar, even magical.
From this new place, we experience trials that test our strength, courage, and resolve. Life gets hard and we question ourselves and why we’re doing this stupid thing in the first place, whatever "it" is for us (our quest). All of these trials culminate into the biggest of all the tests, the “supreme ordeal,” which rocks us to our core. We have to face our greatest fears, shadows, and weaknesses. It takes everything we’ve learned to emerge victorious. This is where we break down or break through. If we succeed, we walk away transformed by the experience. There's also a surprise – an unexpected reward of some kind, “the elixir.” Now, for the journey to be complete, we need to find our way back to the world we came from and share the elixir with others and make the world, or our corner of it, a better place.
Dramatic, sure, but does it sound familiar too? Maybe just a little? Yeah, it’s a lot like life.
The Hero's Vacation
So, about that vacation? First of all, a vacation in the middle will not make for a blockbuster superhero movie. I get it. Secondly, the hero needs more than a vacation. The hero needs a full-on sabbatical, especially if they've let their holistic wellness practices slip with all of the tests and trials taking priority. Again, not exciting enough for a movie. No one buys tickets to watch the Avengers take a couple months off to travel, explore their passions, write their memoirs, or go on a yoga retreat. That won't keep fans on the edge of their seats chomping on popcorn. However, when we're talking about our lives and our own heroic journeys that's a different story.
Having recently embarked on an extended sabbatical, I highly recommend it. So far, I've spent most of the time pursuing a passion of mine, writing – specifically, finishing the first draft of the Executive Hippie's Corporate Survival Guide and submitting the book proposal. The work energizes me in a way I haven't felt in years. That said, I realized after the coaching session that I was spending my entire sabbatical working. And, while the work is exciting and meaningful, it's still hard work. We've all been in a place where we feel like we're in the zone – can't stop, won't stop! But, maybe a pause is exactly what we need at this point.
Some might say the hero should take their sabbatical after the ultimate challenge – claim the reward, then rest, relax, and reset before the big return. That's great, maybe they do that too. However, I think they most need it right before the supreme ordeal. Deep down, the hero knows something big is coming, everyone else knows it too. As everyday heroes, we have clear transition points in our lives too. While it's hard to break away when we're "in it" that's the exact time when we need a mind, body, and spirit reset. We don't want to burn out in the middle of our journey!
When we're maxed out, our body takes over, bringing us back to focusing on basic needs and functionality. Our complex mental processing starts shutting down. We can try to push through. We've all done it, but with suboptimal higher reasoning skills and failing decision making capability, it's a slog – a potentially deadly situation for a superhero facing their supreme ordeal (also not so great for us). We need to take the time we need (before we need it) to reset and refocus, so we can face whatever comes next as our best superhero selves.
The Hero's Wellness Strategy
The hero's wellness routine definitely won't make it to the big screen. But, for the everyday hero, ongoing attention to wellness needs to be part of the journey. If I were the superhero's wellness coach, I would encourage them to establish a holistic wellness strategy, including practices they can use throughout the journey to bring themselves back to balance. Living in the world can be as stressful as saving it. Everyone needs ways to release tension and negativity, avoid emotional exhaustion, and prevent the stress of the journey from accumulating and zapping our energy.
Ongoing stress management is ideal, of course, but having a go-to wellness strategy also helps us during unexpected challenges. When our mental processing and decision making are faltering, we don't even want to make decisions about self care. That's when we're especially grateful that our clear-headed past-selves created a set of no-brainer wellness practices for exactly this scenario.
A wellness strategy fit for superheroes (and everyday heroes) includes self-care practices across all the wellness arenas – physical, yes, but also mental, spiritual, emotional, social, environmental, and financial. How do you define and practice wellness in these areas?
Physical: exercise, nutrition, sleep, hydration, alternative and preventative care, energy healing, and spa treatments (if you're into that).
Mental: learning, reading, curiosity, imagination, new perspective, developing a skill, crafts, hobbies, and humor.
Spiritual: connecting to something greater than us, nurturing what guides your life, and living your values and purpose.
Emotional: stress reduction, mindfulness, meditation, balance, reflection, gratitude, compassion, and letting go.
Social: nurturing relationships, building community, volunteering, and surrounding yourself with positive people.
Environmental: caring for your home, office, and surroundings (declutter, recycle), time in nature, and sensorial experiences.
Financial: living within a financial plan and budget, nurturing an abundance mindset, and reducing debt.
If you're developing or refining your wellness strategy, start by defining your vision of what wellness looks like in each area, then identify practices to get you there. It also helps to clarify what you're seeking as a result. What do you hope to think, feel, do, or experience differently in each category? Stating your intention will help you know if the plan is working and when you need to make adjustments. If you're looking for a template to get you started, there's a free download below.
When it comes to wellness practices, it's also helpful to have a range of options in your plan – from simple things you can do in the moment to strategies for releasing stress hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and annually. In-the-moment practices are things you can do anytime and anywhere, such as breathing exercises, mantras, affirmations, or asking yourself a question that brings you back to focus. Hourly practices could be as simple as standing up, getting away from screens for a hot minute, walking around, or doing a quick stretch. Daily practices need to be things you can realistically commit to – your everyday wellness routine or "non-negotiables." Extending the concept further, what can you do to release tension and promote wellness on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis?
And, the big question, is it time for you to take a hero's vacation? Everyone deserves a hero's vacation at some point in the journey. It could even be a hero's staycation. If you're thinking a sabbatical isn't in the cards for you, remember, you're the director of your own story. It doesn't need to be right now, but consider it as you develop your wellness strategy. It's your movie. Don't cut the recovery scenes!
Download the template
Here's a template to help you start identifying your go-to self-care practices. Subscribe on the Executive Hippie Life site and follow us on social media channels @ExecHippieLife for more!
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