What do you guys think about the Hero's Journey?

I remember learning briefly about the 'Hollywood Model' in school some years ago, but I never really grasped the underlying concept at the time (probably because I didn't pay much attention, lol). I only saw it as a formula that Hollywood uses to pump out blockbusters.

For anyone who might be new to the Hero's Journey - the main idea is that your hero (or all the main players/round characters of your story) follows a series of steps which makes out a journey of spiritual change (do a quick google search for Hero's Journey, and you'll see the steps in detail).

I recently stumbled across Joseph Campbell's The Hero With A Thousand Faces, which in turn led me to Cristopher Vogler's work - and the more concrete/simplified version of the Hero's Journey. I find it very interesting that so many cultures and religions share these common themes and structures when it comes to storytelling.

Anyway, it has really inspired me to look for new ways to tell stories. I try to use it in both large and small scales, and it is allowing me to create more meaningful and fulfilling stories for my main characters. ... But I also know that some people find it constraining or stifling to their creativity.

I know the Hero's Journey can be found in some form or another in a lot of successful movies and books, but I wanted to hear about your personal experience with it. Do you use it actively in your writing/outlining, or is it something that just 'happens' intuitively as you go along?

TL;DR: Personally, I really like how the Hero's Journey can be used so broadly, but I know some people find it constraining. What's your personal experience with it, and how do you use it? (if you use it at all)

Edit:

I realize after a heads-up from a moderator that this is a bit broad for the subreddit, so I'll include a bit about how I use the Hero's Journey in my own work. Also, the reason I posted this topic here is because I know many of you probably work with a lot of main/important characters in your stories, which is especially typical for epic fantasy. If you're not actively developing your story through the Hero's Journey, I would love to hear about the other ways you are doing this.

My current WIP is a medieval fantasy with 4-5 major POV-characters (which I am often afraid is too much for me to handle, considering my limited experience as a writer). One of them is a 70-year old scientist named Lucien Flinch, who's living in a city which is governed by a religious institution named the Victanian Order (inspired by the Roman catholic church during the 1500s). This Order executed Lucien's fiancé when they were in their twenties, and he never got over this devastating loss. For many years, Lucien has been working on a compendium which aims to explain the world around him in layman's terms (so his subconscious long-term goal is to start an enlighenment-esque movement in the world). After being led to a secret compartment in the city library that the Victanian Order hasn't found yet, he learns that there were some mysterious circumstances around his fiancé's death.

So I just described what would be my protagonist's Ordinary World, followed by his Call to Action. Of course, there's a lot of details let out of this brief summary, but hopefully you get the big picture. After these events, I try to line up the story with the HJ-structure - without being too predictable. I think the clue here is to write it in a way that isn't 'this happened, then this happened, and then this happened,' but more like because of this event, this other thing happened.

I somewhat agree with the comment saying that slapping the Hero's Journey onto a poorly developed world can often result in a trope-riddled story full of flat characters. Which brings me to my next point: it's important to consider how you're using it. If one sees the HJ as a 'paint-by-numbers shortcut,' it will most likely turn out to be a burden. If you rather see it as a framework to build your story upon, and a way of exploring your character's goals and motiviations, I think it can be a very useful tool for telling your story in a way that resonates with the reader. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying it's the only way. Just that it's a very effective one that many writers use.

For me, the HJ has helped me to sketch up the different plot-lines in a way that all my main characters have their own distinctive stories to tell (at least that's my goal). Another thing worth mentioning is that it can really make for some interesting developments when your different main characters are interacting during these major points in the story.

So in other (and quite fewer) words: I mainly try to use it as an inspiration rather than a shortcut to write my fantasy story.

I am curious to hear what your thoughts are on this - and I hope the topic is a bit more relevant for the subreddit now.