As a soul’s purpose coach, one of the things that I have the honour of supporting my clients with is cultivating a fulfilling career. Let me start this by saying, there’s a lot of bad, cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all career advice out there. On top of that, receiving unsolicited career advice can be just plain overwhelming and confusing. Of course, most of this advice intends to be helpful and well-meaning, but the problem is that we are all so different. And those who identify as ‘creative souls’ typically crave a career that falls outside of the ‘norm,’ which makes the need for personalized support all the more prevalent.
In this post, I’m breaking down some of the most common BAD pieces of ‘career advice’ that, while well-intended, can actually be major blocks for creative souls. I’ll bring a broader perspective and intentional shifts to help you gain clarity about your path in your way, rooted in your human design.
Bad Advice #1: “Follow Your Passion and Everything Will Work Out”
I love following your passion and purpose, don’t get me wrong… but this advice is dangerously misguided because it makes creative souls feel insufficient or not enough in their gifts if they don’t attain ‘success’ in a certain way within a certain time frame. Passion will get you far, but we cannot bypass the real element of energetic capacity, AND a solid business or career model. Passion without proper structure and direction can lead to burnout or leave you feeling even more confused than when you set out on this journey.
Especially if you decide to start a business or work for yourself by following your passions, it becomes really easy to over-give and over-work when you really love what you do! And like I mentioned above, if you don’t hit certain ‘metrics of success’ through your passion and you believe this advice to be true, you’ll feel like something is ‘wrong’ with you and your talents… when in reality, the reason you’re not hitting those metrics could actually have to do with your business strategy not honouring your actual energetic capacity, for example.
“Passion” itself isn’t a sustainable business or career model. That said, when you meet your passion with aligned strategies that support you in pursuing that purpose in a way that fits your energetic flow, you can absolutely follow your passion as a sign that you are on the right track.
Reframed Advice: Follow what lights you up and energizes you inside, but allow yourself to lay sturdy foundations so you can build sustainably.
Bad Advice #2: “Just Work Harder”
This one actually really harms many folks, especially those who are anything other than a Generator or Manifesting-Generator in human design. Generators and MGs make up the majority of the population, and are ruled by their powerful energetic capacity… while the rest of us are what we call “Non-Sacral” beings, who, if we try to ‘keep up’ with the Generators around us, will most definitely burn out (I speak from experience!)
The advice to “just work harder” is really toxic, especially when it’s given without a deeper understanding of who this person is and how they function. We live in a society that really rewards output rather than alignment. But if you’re here, reading this blog post, you’re someone who craves alignment and more meaning than just grinding for the sake of it! Passionate creative souls often burn themselves out by trying to prove themselves to others by just “working harder” rather than from a place of pure alignment.
For example, as a Projector in human design, if I am feeling stuck or lost, working harder is the last thing I should be doing. Instead, I should take a step back, recalibrate and allow myself to naturally feel a greater sense of perspective that comes from not forcing myself to keep doing. But before I knew I was a Projector, I often fell into the trap of this advice. If I didn’t already have what I wanted, it must mean I have to work harder, right? Wrong! Hard work isn’t the problem… misdirected effort is.
Reframed Advice = Work with your energy, not against it
Bad Advice #3: “Pick One Thing and Stick to It”
Ooomph, this one can really hit hard for many multipassionate creative souls who have been misinformed to believe that they have to pick one thing and “do it well” or “stick to it” and only one thing.
But that’s not true – there are many multipassionate souls in the world who are truly fulfilled only when they can embrace ALL the things that light them up inside. Let’s consider the Manifesting Generator (a subtype of the Generator in Human Design), which makes up about 32% of the world’s population. These people are designed to be multipassionate and love spending their days bouncing between the different things that satisfy them.
For example, one of my best friends, Melissa, is a manifesting-generator and probably one of the purest examples of this multi-passionate, joyous energy I’ve ever witnessed. As a bodybuilder, meditation teacher, subconscious coach & somatic healer, vegan activist, and recipe developer, Melissa is happiest when her days allow her to nourish multiple sides of her passions. She’s carved out an incredible career path for herself that allows her to honour all sides of her being, and she’s most aligned and energized when her days are spent bouncing between the different sides of her passion, getting to serve those she’s meant to with her gifts in such a holistic, clear way. (Follow along with Melissa and her creative path here!)
Even if you’re not a Manifesting Generator you may be multipassionate… many creative souls are! You may pursue multiple passions at once, or you may find yourself pivoting and evolving throughout your career. Evolving, growing, adapting, and revising don’t make you unfocused or unclear… they are part of the creative process for many people!
Reframed Advice = You and your work will naturally evolve with time – embrace the journey and all the things that light you up inside!
Bad Advice #4: “You Need a 5-Year Plan.”
I don’t vehemently disagree with having a plan… I disagree with clinging to a plan or feeling like you have to have a plan. This piece of career advice is just simply outdated… For the Millennial and Gen Z generations, switching industries and careers is actually incredibly common (compared to Gen X and Baby Boomers). The days of graduating from university or college and then working at one company for your entire career are relatively behind us. Of course, there are some cases where this does still occur, but it’s not like it was 20 or 30 years ago. It’s a privilege to live in a time, place and society where we can question what brings us a sense of purpose.
Growth and pivots are a very normal and healthy part of building a fulfilling career. What brings us a sense of fulfillment and purpose may also change throughout our lives. Experimentation is part of what brings us closer to where we want to be.
If you like to have a plan to anchor you, that’s beautiful! I encourage you to be open and willing to divert from that plan if you ever desire to.
Reframe: Direction is much more important than having a rigid roadmap
Defining Success and Fulfillment
Now that we’ve broken down some of the ‘bad’ career advice out there and reframed it to a more empowering direction, let’s finish off by doing something very important… defining what success looks like for YOU. So much of the ‘career advice’ out there is rooted in some arbitrary definition of what success is… but what about what success means to you?
Open your journal or a blank Word document and consider… How do I define “success”? For success to be sustainable and fulfilling it must be rooted in…
- Your personal core values
- Your unique energy flow (human design)
- What brings you joy
Finally, remember to allow yourself to evolve. What brings us a sense of fulfillment and purpose may also change throughout our lives. That’s why I love anchoring in human design – other things may change, but who you are, at an energetic soul level, never will.
Living a Life & Building a Career That Fits YOU
We are not all the same energetically—we each have our own gifts and capacities… which means we all need to approach things like our career and our purpose at an individual level. Rooting yourself in your human design type allows you to work with yourself at a soulful, fulfilling level, cultivating a life and career that feels oh so good.
Learn about your human design type in this free guide.
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