July 24, 2014 6:59 PM EDT
You don't need to start out as a hero. Develop your character into one. They could join the guards just as a normal job; sounds better than being a farmer like your parents, and as a Nord, you love the idea of having an opportunity to test yourself in combat. Being a guard is good justification for this, as opposed to the slightly selfish and dreamy idea of taking off on an adventure, exploring the world. Which seems to be the Tamrielic version of a gap year.
After a bit of time in the guard, perhaps you begin to like the positive attention. You like the valour and accolades of success in battle, or maybe you enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done. This carries on for a while, with you working for Jarl and Hold as best you can, until finally, you kill a dragon and become Thane of Whiterun.
As Thane, you're thought of as minor nobility, not some member of the guards or everyman mercenary. It isn't long before you get bored. You long to feel steel in your hand and blood boiling in your veins as you test yourself against a foe. So you leave. Go somewhere that people don't recognise you on sight. And begin again. This time, you pre-empt the boredom, thank the Jarl for the honour, and leave the hold as soon as he grants you the title. But a new idea forms. You're already partway there. Now you aim to repeat it, become thane of all Skyrim. Because you never leave a job unfinished.