The Hero with A Thousand Faces

...is a book written by Joseph Campbell, a Jungian Psychologist and a student of cross cultural mythology. The Hero is an archetype, a primal structure within the human psyche. 

An archetype is like a template for your mind; it gives shape to our metaphors without necessarily determining the exact content. This can be a difficult concept to grasp, but archetypes can influence the way we see the world and they motivate our thoughts and behaviors in very powerful ways.

The Hero is one such archetype. The Hero is all about vitality, striving, overcoming, sacrifice, hardship and triumph. The Hero is the manifestation of our most private and grandiose fantasies about what it can mean to be human. The Hero is a strong person, who overcomes the odds. He (or she) often even defies the Gods in the process.

The Hero is clearly going to become an important figure in the life of anyone who overcomes adversity. He is a symbol of strength and a source of determination.

Think about why you do triathlon.What motivates you? Are we just big kids playing superhero? Have you ever noticed the similarity between a race kit and a superhero outfit? And the similarities go deeper.  We have gear with special powers, just like superheroes; gadgets, and lots of them, each with a different power and application to help us overcome the elements, and our foes. And what about sports gels? Don't they remind you of Popeye's spinach? What about the fact that Ironman itself, is named after a comic super-hero? And we are all trying to become "Ironman".

But seriously, why are you in the pool at 6 am in the middle of winter? What makes you jump into a dark, freezing lake and swim through a forest of flailing arms and legs? Why do you even contemplate running a marathon after biking the equivalent of Toronto to Niagara Falls and back? What is the inner reward? What is driving you? Why do you feel so satisfied at the end of a training day?

I bet it is your Hero that makes you do it. The more you understand why and how he is there, the more you will understand yourself,  and the more you will see the potential for self-realization that endurance sport has, and why you are attracted to triathlon in the first place.

Don't forget to help my inner hero. Go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society link and donate. Now.

http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1047857&langPref=en-CA