I quickly realized that I had been writing that all along, I just didn’t recognize it. Everything I have been blathering about when it comes to finding happiness, in one way or another, falls into one of those steps almost perfectly. When I saw it, I saw it!

My version of this hero’s journey has our hero (YOU!) searching for 6 pillars (Truth, Honesty, Fact, Trust, Curiosity, and Clarity) that lead to Zenith (Happiness as you define it). The inevitable and logical repercussions of finding Zenith lead to the ultimate metamorphosis: Unum (the deep appreciation that happiness is a shared experience).

Check this out! The hero’s journey to happiness (or Zenith, if you will) looks like this:

THE QUEST

(Call to adventure - The hero is presented with a challenge or quest.)

The Quest is this life you are living. You are already searching for the things that you value - that which will define your happiness - your Zenith. Yet this world is filled with chaos that clouds your ability to see, and hinders your ability to gain, that happiness.

TRUTH

(Ordinary World - The hero’s normal life before the adventure begins.)

Truth is wherever and whoever you are right now. It is everything you have done to get you to this exact moment. The past is gone. The future stretches out before you. Every next decision decides your path to happiness.

FACT

(Refusal of the call - The hero initially hesitates or refuses the adventure.)

Fact is your past. Irrefutable. It is everything that has happened up to this point in time. It feels as though it has put you on a trajectory that cannot be course corrected. It most certainly can. Happiness is not dependent on what has happened. It is dependent on what happens now.

HONESTY

(Tests, allies, and enemies - The hero faces trials, makes friends, and confronts foes.)

Honesty is how you present yourself to the world. It is how your attitude and your actions affect your circumstances. Honesty is about moving forward from where you are on a path toward happiness while impacting everyone in your sphere of influence.

CURIOSITY

(Crossing the threshold - The hero leaves the familiar world and enters the unknown.)

Curiosity is allowing yourself to admit that you cannot (and therefore do not) know everything. Your familiar world becomes small compared to the vastness of the unknown. Joy is compounded by the thrill of what is available to discover.

TRUST

(Meeting with the mentor - The hero encounters a guide who offers support and advice.)

Trust is gained, with others and yourself, through a history of past behavior used to gauge future expectations which solidify as each expectation is either met or missed. Trust is used to build happiness with others.

CLARITY

(Approach - The hero nears the major challenge or central ordeal)

Clarity is the ability to sort through those things that impede your ability to achieve happiness. Clearing the hurtful from the helpful gives you the information needed to move forward with confidence - or, at least, a certain level of pluckiness.

THE ENTANGLEMENTS

(Supreme ordeal - The hero faces their biggest crisis or enemy.)

The Entanglements show how each of the pillars enmesh and build upon each other - either strengthening each or creating something new. The Entanglements are a way to incorporate what you have learned to the quest you are on.

ZENITH

(Reward - Overcoming the ordeal, the hero gains a prize or insight.)

Zenith is understanding how the Pillars build toward happiness (as you define it). It is the ultimate reward because it is the thing we all desire.

CONTINUUM

(Road back - The hero begins the journey home, facing more challenges.)

Continuum is the understanding that when you have found Zenith, you have found your new truth and you begin again. The wheel turns. Continuum is the discovery that looking for happiness and finding it are the same thing.

REVELATION

(Resurrection - The hero undergoes a final transformation or rebirth.)

Revelation is the head-slapping realization that everyone is on the same quest. Everyone is making decisions to find their own happiness. More importantly, it is the awareness that your own happiness is interdependent on other’s happiness (and vice-versa).

UNUM

(Return with the elixir - The hero returns changed, often bringing wisdom or a boon that benefits others.)

Unum is the deep appreciation that together we can build a stronger, more lasting happiness for ourselves and each other when we act as champions for ourselves and those around us.