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Hero's journey: Your responsive narrative (Part 1)
- Steph Turner
- Feb 1
- 5 min read
Need-response transports the client from the "ordinary world" to the "special" or extraordinary world inside the hero's journey.
A wellness campaign publicizes the adventure of speaking truth to power. The client takes the role of "hero" in their own empowerment story. To go beyond the ordinary world. This liberation narrative follows the familiar pattern of the hero's journey, recognizable in many legendary stories and hit movies.
PART ONE CONTENTS
Most of us find ourselves trapped in what can be called a "feel-reactive" mode. We likely don't realize how stuck we are in life-stifling norms of the "ordinary world". We're like fish in the ocean who remain oblivious to the increasing stagnancy of the water.
Need-response can liberate you from this trap. It can lift you out from the smothering pressures of the "ordinary world". It can carry you into the "special world" where you develop your human potential to be much more "need-responsive".
Every wellness journey begins with a client suffering a problem. It's a situation mostly beyond their personal control. The problem points to power dynamics. The client has fewer options in the power relations affecting their problem.
Need-response considers this client the "Reporting Impactee" or "RI" for short. They address all four levels of human problems in their journey to solve their stubborn problem.
The hero of each responsive narrative is the RI. Think of this as a David versus Goliath story. But the villain in your story is not the Goliath of Ascribed or Acknowledged Impactors but all the structural barriers in the way of resolving each other’s affected needs.
The qualified AIs become a part of the RI’s team that helps slay this impersonal dragon. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world” that have drifted into symfunctionality or worse.
To slay that dragon, the hero must leave the familiarity of their ordinary world to step into an extraordinary world. To fully resolve overlooked needs, the hero leaves the familiarity of the cisconventional realm to enter the more focused transconventional realm.
Accept popular generalizations while continuing to overlook relevant specifics. Settle for easing needs or merely relieving the pain of unmet needs while leaving the unresolved needs to cause more pain. Accept established norms as the way we should all do things. View life through a binary lens, that waters down complex moral issues into simple black-and-white terms.
"Cisconventional" means you align with what is conventional. This points to Kohlberg's middle stage of moral development: Conventional. It features symfunctionality of pragmatically fitting into what is socially expected. Here we find the “normal world" or "ordinary world”.
Transconventional realm
Question widely accepted generalizations to address missed specifics. Seek to fully resolve the needs prompting each other’s pain, even if this means enduring some discomfort now. Insist that our enforced norms result in more needs resolving and raising our overall functioning. Embrace the nuance in life. Engage the ambiguities in moral issues. Transcend binary terms to connect with the unmet needs on all sides to an issue.
"Transconventional" means you transcend what is conventional. This points to Kohlberg's middle stage of moral development: Post-conventional. It features peakfunctionality of fully resolving needs and reaching toward full human potential.
Here we find the “special world" or "extraordinary world”.
The hero covers all problem levels
Along the way, powerful AIs who seemed like adversaries become allies. The hero leads a team that helps the willing AI to test and improve their leadership qualities. The team attests to the AI’s progressing leadership credentials, after measurably demonstrating greater responsiveness to the RI’s cause of overlooked needs.
Anankelogy recognizes four levels of human problems, or common challenges. The West’s emphasis on the individual can easily get us fixated on the first level of the individual, tempting us to overlook the many external factors contributing to our many stubborn problems.
1. Personal problems.
The only barrier to resolving some need is within the individual. Once the individual changes it, the problem goes away. Pain dissipates as function improves. If left in place, the individual typically continues to suffer in pain as function declines.
EXAMPLE: You avoid asking for help in your time of need only out of fear of being rejected, but if you do not ask then you will never know if you could have received the needed assistance. Or while still afraid, you test the waters and ask someone for a little help. As they reach out to help you, your discomfort fades and you get back on your feet.
2. Interpersonal problems.
The barrier to resolve needs exists between two or more people of relatively equal social status. Once all sides change what they can, the problem can be solved. Pain goes away as function improves. Otherwise, all sides tend to remain in some level of pain as their ability function remains compromised.
EXAMPLE: You get into an argument with your neighbor about how noisy they get late at night. They complain you leave your windows open so they partly blame you for being so sensitive to the noise. You get an air conditioner to keep your windows closed and they turn down their music after 9 PM. Each adjusted to the identified need, which helps to clear up the problem.
3. Power problems.
The barrier to resolve needs stems from someone in a position of power lacking sufficient responsiveness to an affected need, typically the needs of the less powerful. Once this powerholder recognizes the need and makes the necessary change or changes, the problem can be solved. Pain goes away as function improves. Otherwise, the pain persists for the less powerful while their ability to function remains limited. The full potential of the powerholder is also held back, compromising their legitimacy as a leader.
EXAMPLE: Your supervisor at work keeps giving you tasks originally assigned to your coworker. You want to complain, but avoid risking retribution. Your supervisor then explains your coworker is recovering from an invisible injury, who apologizes for not having to shift their workload onto you. After saying you understand, your supervisor requests you receive a raise. The problem takes care of itself.
4. Structural problems.
The barrier to resolve needs exists in the social or cultural structures, beyond any individual’s personal control. Cultural norms or long-standing practices get in the way of fully resolving affected needs. Once the structural barrier gets transformed to be more responsive to the identified needs, the problem can be more easily solved. Pain can subside and allow personal and shared functioning to improve. Otherwise, society itself can remain held back to a lower level of functioning. Addressing such structural barriers typically calls for a sharp level of leadership, which can sort out weak leaders from the worthy ones.
EXAMPLE: A police officer detains you after you wander through a protest that turned violent. You protest that you were not part of the protest, but the officer tells you that he is only doing his job. You are release about an hour later, with a warning to be more aware of the social situation around you. You feel annoyed but thankful things didn’t get any worse, as you are now free to go home.
Part 2 takes you deeper into the hero's journey. See how the journey addresses each of these four problem levels. Dive deeper into each step along the way.
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