What the Research Found
Viewing your life as a Hero’s Journey — a narrative where a protagonist faces challenges, transforms, and grows — is linked to greater meaning in life and psychological well-being.
Key points from the work reported
1. Large, multi-study research project
Researchers ran multiple studies with thousands of participants to examine how personal narratives relate to a sense of meaning.
2. New measurement tool: Hero’s Journey Scale (HJS)
A 21-item scale based on seven narrative elements (e.g., protagonist, quest, challenge, allies, transformation, legacy) was developed to assess how closely someone’s life story aligns with a Hero’s Journey pattern.
3. People who saw their lives as a Hero’s Journey reported
- Higher meaning in life
- Greater well-being and flourishing
- Higher life satisfaction
- Lower depression scores
These relationships were reported even when controlling for common predictors of meaning.
4. Narrative intervention shaped meaning
In experiments, participants were guided to rewrite their life stories using Hero’s Journey themes. After re-storying, participants reported higher meaning and flourishing and showed improvements in coping-related measures, consistent with experimental effects rather than simple correlation.
5. Beyond personal narrative
One study suggested this reframing can also shift how people find meaning in ambiguous tasks, pointing to a broader meaning-making lens.
Scientific Source (Peer-Reviewed)
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