Although we are heroes at every stage of the journey, how we define and experience heroism is affected by which guide is most active in our lives. The Warrior archetype is an important aspect of heroism – for all people, whatever their age or gender – but it is not the only or even the most essential one. All twelve archetypes are important to the hero’s journey.

The story you tell yourself about yourself and your world is defined by what archetype currently dominates your thinking and acting. If the Warrior is dominant, you see challenges to be overcome. When the Caregiver is dominant, you see people in need of your care. When the Sage is dominant, you see illusion and complexity and strive to find truth. When the Commediant is dominant, you see ways to have a good time.

Each of the twelve archetypes, then, is both a guide on the hero’s journey and a stage within it – offering a lesson to be learned and a gift or treasure to enrich our lives.

Once we have opened to learning from all twelve archetypes, we might experience all twelve in a single day, or hour. Suppose, for instance, something goes wrong, your company is in jeopardy. For the first few minutes, you do not want to look at the problem (shadow Dreamer), but then your optimism returens (Dreamer) and you plunge into investigating the situation. Your next experience is to feel powerlessness and pain, but than you ask others for support (Teamplayer). You marshall your resources and develop a plan to deal with the problem (Warrior). As you implement it, you also pay attention to what you and others need in the way of emotional support (Caregiver).

You gather more information (Discoverer), let go of illusions, false hopes, limiting stories (Rule Breaker) and make new commitments to change (Lover) in order to come up with a story (Storyteller). That is, you respond to the crisis as a way of growning and becoming more than you were. Once the crisis is handeled, you also look to see how you might have contributed to creating the problem with the story you had (Ruler) – if you did, to transform that part of the story (Alchemist) so that you will not creat such a difficulty again. This allows you to see what can be learned from the situation (Sage). Learning it frees you up to go back to enjoying your life (Commediant) and trusting life’s processes (Dreamer).

When one or more archetypes are not activated in our lives, we skip steps. For example, if we have no Warrior, we will fail to develop a plan for dealing with the problem. If we have no Sage, we may neglect to gain the lesson the situation could teach us.

The Hero’s Journey through the twelve archetypal stories is a storytelling process that helps us develop invaluable skills for day – to – day living.