The Call.

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Motivation is a slippery idea. We all aren’t motivated to do things in the same way. Heck, we’re not even motivated in the same way consistently in our own lives! One time I might be motivated to finish a task because there is an external reward, but another time I am motivated by the sense of satisfaction I get from a job well-done. Sometimes it seems that nothing can get me motivated.

How is it then that some people seem to have such high levels of motivation?

Many people think there is a connection between how much we are invested in the task, or how much we care about it, and our levels of motivation. I guess this make sense. The next question is how to find something to care about that much?

Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, believed that each of us is called to our own heroic journey. Not the running into the burning building to save the child kind of hero, but a kind of hero journey of our lives that transforms us and opens us up to our true selves. For Joseph Campbell, it’s not that we need to go out looking for ways to be a hero; we need to learn to answer the call.

Literature is full of examples of the heroic journey. Some like The Hobbit explicitly follow the pattern of the hero monomyth. Other stories only use parts of the cycle. As we work through Pay It Forward, consider how this lens, the hero’s journey, might apply.

What motivates Trevor? Did he answer the call?

5 thoughts on “The Call.

  1. This blog does meets the criteria by having a good title and the person who wrote it didn’t stray off topic this was a good topic to write about i like the video on how heros are born and used movies as an example and the blogger talked about a movie which followed the same base line the video talked about.

    • Thank you for your comment Dehmin! I really like the video clip in this post too. It presents the heroic journey as a lens through which we can view stories (as novels or movies) in a way that is entertaining and informative. We will be considering everything we read through this lens this semester. And we will be thinking about answering the call to our own heroic journey!

  2. This blog has amazing criteria. It stays on topic the whole time and even has a great video to go along with the idea. I like how the video goes along with the topic and how it relates to hero’s. I can connect this to my book and relate it to Trevor because in a way Trevor is also a hero, he’s changing the world in small ways. Just like a hero could. Hero’s could be anybody, you just have to be brave enough to take the chance, like Trevor.

  3. This post has very good sentences, the grammar and spelling is pretty good. The blog title is pretty catchy. There is a good video too.

  4. This post has very proper sentences, the spelling and the lead is very good. And the video is related able to the Hero journey and the video ties you in like a video game. Relates to Pay It Forward to the character Trevor because he was brave and full of ideas and wanted to change the world and make a difference and be hero to those who need the help and that`s what hero does as well.

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