On facing the dragon
Growth starts the moment we answer the call to confront our greatest challenge.
“Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny.” - C. S. Lewis
The Hobbit is a story of the Hero’s Journey—one adventure in which we see how a character reaches his best version, and once he does, he never stops. He became the Hero and then behaved in a heroic way for the rest of the journey, and surely a great part of his life, until he stopped training and developing.
Bilbo Baggins was hired as a thief. His job was to do the most important and dangerous thing of all the adventure. His main quest was to steal the King’s Stone from the dragon Smaug. That’s right—his job was to face the dragon.
Throughout the whole adventure, he changed. He started with fear and with no knowledge of how to be a warrior. But just a little spark made him cross the umbral, because he knew how much growth he could experience—and he certainly did. Of course, along the journey, he became a different Hobbit. He grew. But his real challenge came when the time to face the dragon arrived. It represented the achievement of the job for which he was hired. Surely, when he first signed up, he wasn’t thinking about it directly. The Bilbo Baggins at the beginning of the adventure couldn’t have done it. But now, he was a warrior. Even with all the fear of the continent, he did it—because it was his duty.
We now acknowledge that the real adventure—the real reward that Bilbo had—was not the payment of his part, nor the stone, nor all the gold that the dragon was protecting. No—the real reward was facing the dragon. It was what made him grow. It was the call for his adventure. It was what made him become the Great Hero: the choice to face the biggest enemy, the courage to go through fear.
This is what we seek. We need to become our best hero to then act heroic. But, just as Bilbo did, first we need to face our dragon. We first need to acknowledge who our dragon is and then sign up for the adventure. That is what will make us grow and help us find our best version across the pass of the crest and valleys.
Who will we be at the top of the mountain? Which version are you going to summon? Who is your dragon, and how can you prepare to face it in the best way? Right now, the best thing that we all can do is to create our contract. What are the tasks that we need to do, and what is the main mission that we are trying to achieve? How will facing the dragon help you?
We all have a dragon that is waiting for us. It is calling to us. Every night, when we go to sleep, our last thought is about it. When we feel we have a defeat, it is due to it—due to its army that is provoking us. It is whispering. And once we decide to cross the umbral for the call of adventure, then we will already be facing the dragon—becoming a better human.
It is curious to think that it is almost always the enemy who makes the call for the adventure. It could be the dragon who is calling you, or the biggest challenge (and of course, with this, I mean an endeavor—not just an “enemy”). So if the dragon is the one who calls, maybe the evil voice is not that bad at all, because it is calling for the light—the fire that you may bring to the darkness. It is waiting for the goods—for the greats—to win.
Go on, discover your dragon, face it, and grow from it.
Great Hero, this is your call. Arise and be brave.
Question for you
What if the dragon isn’t your enemy, but your invitation to grow?