The Heroic Journey of Teenagers
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Resources For Teenagers

This Site Can Be a Game-Changer for You – Just be Curious

This site is designed to show you what to expect on your journey & how to manage it.

It is designed to support you in becoming the author of your life vs. letting life happen to you. 

The Benefits for You

  1. Increase your confidence & decrease the natural uncertainty & insecurity of the teen journey
  2. Increase your understanding of your life & how to navigate your journey
  3. Increase your sense of excitement & hope & decrease anxiety
  4. Bonus – The heroic journey is the fundamental story of change throughout life, so you will be prepared for adult life

“Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity.”  Unknown

Your Journey

  1. You are on a 10-year journey – from childhood to young adulthood
  2. The heart of that journey is becoming the author of your life
  3. You face 3 core challenges – forming your identity as a young adult; creating new and more mature relationships; and building the competencies required for success as a young adult
  4. You must let go of the old ways of childhood; discover and master the new ways of young adulthood; and deal with a long period of being in-between childhood and young adulthood (“inbetweenity”)

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.”  Steve Maraboli

Your Power

  1. Your power increases when you understand the 3 core challenges you face.   3 CORE CHALLENGES
  2. When you know what to expect on your journey and can make sense of your experience, your power increases.  WHAT TO EXPECT
  3. There is power in the 6 key strategies for managing your journey.   WHAT TO DO
  4. There will be power for you in some of the Special topics – from Thriving or making a Difference to Bullying or Suicide.   SPECIAL TOPICS

“You may not control life’s circumstances, but getting to be the author of your life means getting to control what you do with them.”  Atul Gawande

The 4 Keys to Using the Site

  1. Be Curious – Just go to any part of the site that is of interest at any particular time.
  2. Use the Worksheets (“thought catchers”) – Capture any thoughts you have as you poke around the site and save them.  There are lots of “thought catchers” on the site and many have guiding questions to help generate thoughts about your journey.
  3. Connect with Others – Talk with your peers and trusted adults about your experience & what you discover (being a teenager is a team sport).
  4. Focus on Your Trajectory Toward Young Adulthood – Remember, it’s a journey and it’s not about completions.  Just keep moving forward even with all the ups and downs.

“You’re not going to master the rest of your life in one day.  Just relax…master the day.  Then just keep doing that every day.”  Unknown.

 

The Three Core Challenges You Face

They all take time.  They will progress at different rates.  There are big sections for each challenge.   

  1. Forming an identity as a young adult.  “Who am I?’  “Am I worthy?”  “Who might I be?”   IDENTITY
  2. Developing more mature relationships – with parents, peers and romantic partners.  “Where am I connected?”  “Who cares about me?” ‘What am I bringing to my relationships”   RELATIONSHIPS
  3. Building a wide range of competencies required of a young adult.  “Am I capable of taking care of myself – of being successful?”  “What capabilities must I build?”   COMPETENCIES

“There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self.”  Benjamin Franklin

What to Expect on the Journey – What’s Normal and Natural  

The section on what to expect on the journey is where you will find the most information about what’s normal and natural, including a bunch of examples.

  • If want to know about the three different ways you will be tested (letting go, discovery/mastery and “inbetweenity”)
  • If you want to see specific cases in which those three types of test play out
  • If you are interested in developing your support network
  • If you want to know about the rollercoaster nature of the journey
  • If you want to see how you will be tested and grow on five levels:  physical. Emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual

What to Do About it – Managing Your Journey

If you are interested in six strategies to use to manage your journey: 

  1. Facing the challenges directly and being the author
  2. Creating a plan of action
  3. Connecting to the right people
  4. Following the path of mastery
  5. Persevering and “holding the course”
  6. Creating your heroic code

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."  

Michaelangelo

Check Out the Sections on Special Topics

These are sections that address specific issues, identify other resources or provide hundreds of quotes.   

SPECIAL TOPICS

  • If you have a friend who is suicidal
  • If you are feeling suicidal
  • If you are interested in thriving vs. just surviving on the journey
  • If you want to make a difference
  • If you’re interested in making gaming work for you
  • If you are interested in dealing with bullying
  • If you are interested in lots of other resources
  • If you like the wisdom found in quotes from all over the world

 

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

Anais
Nin