The Identity Dilemma
Embracing reinvention as a career strategy
I have already accepted that I will likely be in a completely different career in another ten years. I have no idea what it will be. But I kind of like that I’ll be just as surprised as everyone about where I end up.
When I imagine myself in the far away future; wise, wrinkled and grey, I imagine I’m curled up beside a fire, in a cosy room surrounded by my proud collection of books on every topic that has captured my attention, with a whole list of modalities, languages and job titles under my belt. When I think of all the things I want to learn about and the skills I want to collect, I’m not even sure a lifetime is long enough to navigate all the rabbit holes I want to explore further. My curiosity is infinite and I like knowing that I can move between worlds and bring out a different part of me depending on who I’m talking to or the rooms I’m in. I like collecting mannerisms and quirks from the people around me, reciting random facts from each era of my life and I like that my wardrobe looks like it belongs to five very different people.
But I haven’t always liked the uncertainty of where I’ll end up or who I will turn into. There have been times, and even now still there are days, where I fight it or beat myself up for being flaky and indecisive. Even though I know this is part of my natural design, I still find myself in mental loops of feeling lost or feeling embarrassed of the many skins I’ve shed, the different friend groups I’ve cycled through, the amount of online courses I’ve enrolled in (and not always finished!), the peer pressure I’ve given in to, the compromises I made to be accepted, the extensive HECS debt I’ve accumulated, all as I continue to change my mind and try on new career identities.
The difference is that these mental loops down drown me anymore. I have an anchor point to return to, a frame of reference that feels like a permission slip to embrace this part of myself and lean into the spontaneity and delight that comes with a lifetime of reinvention.
The Identity Centre
In Human Design, the G Centre (also called the Identity Centre) is the energetic hub for self-love, self-identity, and our sense of direction in life. When this centre is undefined or open, which is true for around 43% of the population, you’re not designed to have a fixed, unwavering sense of who you are. Instead, you’re naturally receptive to the people and environments around you, absorbing and amplifying those energies as part of how you move through the world. (Look up your chart here.)
This means it’s completely natural for you to try on different identities, roles, and directions, and to keep reinventing yourself across different chapters of your life. Many people with an open G Centre look back and feel like they’ve lived several lifetimes, because in many ways, they have.
There are some people who feel more certain about who they are and where they’re going- and even when they don’t actually know what step comes first or how they’ll get there, they still have a solid sense of what’s for them and what’s not. These people have a defined G centre and experience a consistent flow of energy when it comes to these themes of identity and life direction. It’s not that these people don’t reinvent themselves or change direction- they definitely do- but the motivation to redirect comes from their sense of self, rather than external influences like peer groups, work colleagues, social trends, cultural shifts- all the things that people with an undefined G centre constantly absorb and amplify from their surroundings. Those with a defined G centre aren’t as easily influenced.
My brother is my favourite example of someone with a defined G centre. He has a solid sense of self and will not compromise or filter who he is for anyone. He expresses himself the same way, no matter who he is around. He can sometimes be very set in his ways but his energy has always felt steady and assured. He doesn’t pay attention to what other people are doing, he moves at his own pace and isn’t swayed by what’s popular or what others think he should be doing.
The challenge for those with an undefined G centre comes when they pin their self-worth to a single career identity, or when they begin to measure themselves against a cultural story that says we should have it all figured out by now. When this centre is out of alignment, it can show up as constant self-doubt, obsessing over future direction, or that persistent, exhausting loop of “What am I doing with my life?”
If this sounds familiar, here is a simple reframe that can help bring this energy centre into balance: reinvention is your gift and it only needs to make sense to you.
If you’ve had many careers, worn many hats, or feel like you’re constantly evolving, you’re not lost. You’re not flaky or unfocused. You may simply be someone whose gifts are expressed across a range of experiences rather than within one fixed role.
The is a reminder, and an invitation to stop trying to force yourself into a single profession, industry or career and instead start trusting the process of becoming. Our cultural conditioning pushes us into having a life plan and moving towards a set goal. But your sense of direction isn’t designed to move you in a straight line. Your life direction will move you across different environments, connect you with new people, expose you to different ideas so that you can continually reinvent your sense of self and get to know the many different versions of you. And that might look messy or chaotic from the outside at times but that’s only because of what we have been taught to value and aspire to.
Imagine if we were brave enough to celebrate having a chameleon nature. If constant reinvention was encouraged and revered. I think most people think they are fine with it, but in reality our conditioning takes over. When that friend on facebook you met overseas years ago, moves countries or changes jobs for the 11th or 12th time, we roll our eyes. When someone suddenly shows up with a completely new look, a new lifestyle, a new business- a whole new aesthetic, our conditioned response is to question it or frame them as someone “who hasn’t found themselves” or is “still figuring it out”. But maybe they have found themselves and are embracing their true nature; an ever-evolving sense of self.
There’s so much depth to be found in someone who has morphed through various identities and brings all the wisdom and empathy from a lifetime of reinvention into their work and their relationships. In this way, each new workplace or social network is an opportunity to explore new aspects of identity and will influence your life direction in profound ways.
This also highlights just how important the environment is to those with an undefined G centre. If you’re in a toxic or unhealthy relationship, friend group, partnership or workplace you are going to amplify what you experience and be vulnerable to negative conditioning around your sense-of self, life direction, self-esteem and love. Being in the correct environment- where you can operate from you Strategy and Authority-is key for those with an undefined G centre and changing up your environment should be a priority if you notice those mental loops of self doubt.
So if you’re stuck on a loop of questioning your life direction or trying to cling to an outdated version of yourself, this is your permission to let go of the need to lock in a direction or settle on a career. Your next direction or career isn’t going to be “the one” and it doesn’t need to feel like you could do it forever, it just needs to feel right for where you are now.
If you would like to learn more about how you are designed to take initiative and the type of work environments that are healthy for your unique design, you can book in a Career Alignment Session where you get my eyes on your chart. In this session I help unpack your career story, move towards clarity and create a work-schedule that aligns with your natural energy.
If you are navigating a career change and would like more hands-on support, you can join my virtual tea-room where you will have access to;
my online library, including the RECALIBRATE series for burnt-out teachers,
1:1 career mentoring (via voice-notes on Voxer)
weekly online co-working sessions
sound healing journeys
tools and tips for preventing burnout
insights on using Human Design and the Gene Keys to thrive in your work-life
You can join my virtual tea-room by upgrading to a paid subscription on the link below.
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