Where have I already done all the work?

Film trivia.

I am thinking of a movie where the hero is on a quest to find something of great value. After a long and hard series of adventures, the journey culminates with an encounter with the mentor archetype.

The spirit advisor, a wise old soul who sent the main character on their sprawling quest initially, blows their mind with an insight.

The object they were searching for was in their own possession all along. It was there the whole time.

Can you name that movie?

Trick question. The narrative above describes almost every movie. That’s the essence of the hero’s journey. Whatever we’re looking for, it’s hidden in plain sight. Inside of us from very beginning. We simply couldn’t access it until we reached a specific state that could only have been achieved through the efforts taken during our quest.

It’s kind of annoying, but then again, it makes for a compelling third act.

The interesting part about this trope is, we can leverage it for profound growth in our own lives. We can reverse engineer the epiphany to figure out what assets we now possess that can fuel our efforts forward.

One question I’ve learned to ask myself is, where have I already done all the work?

Meaning, what journey did I finish, that I can now use as a launching pad for the next chapter?

See, in our world where the answer to virtually every growth related challenge is, you just have to do the work, sometimes you have to stop and empower yourself with how far you’ve already come. To glance over your shoulder and think, oh wow, look how much ground I’ve covered. I am more equipped than I realized, and it’s all been building toward something bigger. Let’s see how I can use this.

Pressfield writes about this pivotal moment in his memoir:

I have a theory about the hero’s journey. We all have one. We have many, in fact. But our primary hero’s journey as artists is the passage we live out, in real life, before we find our calling. The hero’s journey is the search for that calling. It’s preparation, initiation. On our hero’s journey, we acquire a history that is ours alone. It’s a secret history, a private history, a personal history. No one has it but us. No one knows it but us. This secret history is the most valuable possession we hold, or ever will hold. We will draw upon it for the rest of our lives. Everything that’s happened to us up to this point is rehearsal for us to act, now, as our true self and to find and speak in our true voice.

Steve’s idea is deeply empowering. Realizing we’ve earned access to this valuable thing inside of us that wasn’t there before, it’s a uniquely inspiring. Doesn’t mean there isn’t more work ahead. There’s always more work.

But the difference is, this time our toolkit is bigger. Now we actually know a few things. Now we can be more intentional and discerning with our efforts.

Where have you already done all the work?