#270 Refusing the Call
There comes a time in every hero’s life when their life undergoes a dramatic shift. One day you’re a regular teen/child/young adult/extremely old man living your life like any other normal fuddy-duddy. Going to school, prank calling local business owners, doing cool kick flips on your skateboard whilst playing the key-tar. Then, suddenly, it will happen. Your life will change forever. You’ll realize that you were meant for greater things, that you were always meant to be a hero. You’ll receive the call to adventure. And you’re going to need to refuse it.
Refusing the call to adventure is one of the most vital components of a superhero’s development. You need to slam the door on the old wizened wizard. Mark that alien artifact that landed on your porch as “return to sender.” Burn up your acceptance letter to Mecha Pilot School. When adventure comes a knockin your doors you should be a lockin. No adventures for you. No thank you. Not today sir. You already had a lot for breakfast.
While it may seem odd, and dangerously irresponsible, to ignore, or even reject, somebody calling upon you to be a hero, trust me this is what needs to happen. Refusing the initial call to action might not be what’s best for the world, I mean for all you know this is a very time sensitive summons of destiny. There could a bomb or something. But it’s the best thing for your overall development as a hero, and in the longterm, that’s really the most important thing. There are other heroes who can respond to this initial call. You can’t throw a dead cat in this neighborhood without hitting like three superheroes. (Stop throwing dead cats at superheroes. Who is that even for? Are you becoming a dead cat themed supervillain? That’s so weird.) You need to refuse the call to adventure so that you can take stock of your life and decide if a life of derring-do and heroism is something you actually want. If you don’t treat this decision with the proper gravitas and care, you run the risk of making the wrong decision. And everyone knows that if a superhero makes even a single mistake they could become a supervillain and cause many problems for the world down the line! That goes even doubly if your first decision as a superhero, the decision to become a hero, turns out to be a mistake. Then you’re definitely going to become a supervillain. So put that adventure call on hold, get yourself a croissant, and mull it over.
They say that anybody who wants to be in charge has no business ever being put in charge. The idea is that anybody who wants great power is definitely going to come to abuse that power eventually. If that’s true for measly mortal leaders who only have measly mortal power than its especially true for superheroes with incredibly immense power. Anybody who craves superpowers definitely shouldn’t be handed them on a silver platter. So if superpowers are offered to you on a silver platter, you need to refuse them at first. To protect yourself and the world around you. Chances are that if you’re being offered powers then there is some inherent goodness in you that is being recognized. (Or you were the only person around when there were awesome powers to be given.) And if you want to preserve that goodness you have to be able to resist the temptations that come with great power. Refusing the call is a way to clear your head and get your priorities in check so that you can come back and accept the great responsibilities you are being tasked with.
At the same time, you never want to refuse a call to adventure in such a way that the call is rescinded entirely. Essentially, you’re playing hard to get. You don’t want to seem too eager, but you don’t want to seem too committed to your refusal. We want you to drop the call, not block the caller entirely. Don’t be rude to whichever hapless herald, magical mailman, or celestial courier is sent to extend the call to you. Simply tell them that all that big time heroic save-the-world-from-Jgmudthr-the-world-eating-space-worm nonsense is simply not for you. (Don’t give them the name of someone who you think it might be for though, because they will just pack up and call that other guy to adventure and that’s not what we want!) At the same time, you shouldn’t extend them an invitation to stay in your guest room while you mull over their offer. Your initial refusal needs to be true and firm, but without burning any bridges. (All of your actions should be done without burning bridges! What’s wrong with you? Are you planning on becoming a bridge burning supervillain???)
While the call to adventure is obviously a crucial part of any hero’s journey, a hero’s refusal of that call is just a vital to their development. Turning down the call to power, heroism, and adventure shows that you can resist temptation and think things through. It shows that you are capable of making decisions based on your own degree of self-awareness, and that you are able to take other people’s well being and best interests into account when making decisions that could very well affect the whole world. So remember, when you hear the call... maybe just let it go to voicemail.