Or a personal legend?
I’ve heard throughout my life that we each have a mission or purpose. I’ve taught the Hero’s Journey – Campbell’s classic deconstruction of almost every story ever told – and how to apply it to your own life. I’ve seen the power of teaching this and believing it. But I’ve also seen its problems.
It is powerful to be able to teach a student that they have a purpose in life… there is a reason for them being here on earth right now. It transcends religious creeds (although these can confuse the issue and even for some people negate the whole idea). And yet I have seen how even an unknown “why” helps students in times of difficulty and self-doubt. But it leaves many students confused.
Millennials are so often depicted as entitled and lacking a work ethic but that just isn’t true. Research shows that “recent generations of young people perceive that others are more demanding of them, are more demanding of others, and are more demanding of themselves.” They are perfectionists.
When you add the idea of mission to an already burdened student suffering from perfectionism, it may be too much. Perfectionism is not a good thing. It is stifling. You can’t accomplish anything because it may not be perfect. It manifests itself as depression and anxiety. There isn’t a conclusive cause for this but social media is thought to attribute to it.
Mission and purpose are wonderful words but they tend to be understood as being singular. You have “A” mission. What happens when you complete it? Is your life’s work done? NO. I’ve taught this over and over. Even the Campbell’s “Journey” alludes to it. When a mission is done, you get another one. And you go again. But it seems overwhelming. I’ve actually seen people give up and decide to go the easy route – the life of mediocrity.
Maybe with a slight vocabulary change we can eliminate this problem.
In Donald Miller’s book “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” he talks about his “story”. He thinks of himself as the main character and he gets to write the story of his life. And he wants a better story.
A more powerful and more kid-friendly book that illustrates this is “The Alchemist” by Paulo Cuelo. The term he uses is “personal legend”. Vocabulary is important. It either brings you in or can make you feel excluded. Young people often can’t see themselves as having a “mission” but can insert themselves into a legend. Especially with the story that Cuelo tells.
“The Alchemist” is a story of a boy who is a shepherd who has a dream that is telling him to go on a journey to find treasure. It is a journey that he is reluctant to go on until a man shows up and tells him about “personal legends”. This man gives him initial encouragement and his memory serves to motivate the shepherd throughout the journey, especially when he is giving up. And he does that many times. He thinks about turning back several times for several reasons – losing everything, love, fear. But he wants to live his personal legend. He knows that there is power in staying on course. Even when it is hard.
What story do you want to write for your life? What legend do you want to live?