What Is Your Ideal Work Archetype?
There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. Nelson Mandela
This essay is part of series I am writing on my decision to change career and the challenges of professional and personal transitions.
I love creating things. I hear stories of how the blank sheet of paper scares writers. Nothing could be further from the truth for me. There is always a steady stream of ideas in my head searching for any scrap of blank paper to pour onto. The notes section on my phone is full of words, sentences, recordings, and ideas that come to me while out walking or running. My problem is rarely a lack of ideas, rather managing the quantity of ideas. When I think about why I set up a business, building a container for my creativity was one of them. I had ideas I wanted to bring to life and share and I wanted the autonomy and creative freedom to do that in ways that mattered to me. Ways that would be authentic, purposeful, and impactful for both me and people who engage with my work.
Understanding Your Ideal Work Archetype
Many people have struggled to understand the choices I made. I broke rank in some ways. I no longer wanted ‘success’ in the form society typically defines it. The traditional way of building a career means the only success acceptable is to keep moving up or getting more. It turns out, this is not my success map. I am not sure this ‘higher and more’ path reflects the vitality of the human spirit. It doesn’t reflect mine anyway.
To illustrate the life I want to lead and the work I want to do, the easiest archetype of comparison I can find is actors. In my mind, there are two versions of successful actors. Some super successful actors only do blockbuster movies. Their definition of success is big budget, commercially successful movies which can pay them the fee they desire each time and ensure their status as big names in the field. And good for them, if that is their preference, they should keep doing it. This is society’s current work archetype; pick a lane and keep moving upwards. The idea that more is always better. There are days I want glimpses of success like that too, when I wonder what life would have been like if I had stayed and pursued the c-suite role that was likely in my future. Shiny and lucrative as that might have been, I know it would not have been enough for me. I want both work and a life which is more varied and creatively interesting.
The archetype I am seeking to emulate is the actor who moves between the blockbuster, the indie movie, and the Broadway role. They share the ambition of the first actor, but they direct it in a different way. They are creative risk-takers, interested in exploring different ways to hone their craft. They need a variety of self-expression beyond what is always commercially and financially palatable. They place a high value on excellence. They are always learning. This is me. I place value on the time and effort it takes to become masterful at what you do. I understand this way of working will offer opportunities to expand my sense of self rather than send me down a linear (albeit potentially more stable) path. Equally, I accept on this path every year may look different. Some years, I may have a blockbuster year while other years it may be more indie movie in feel. The overall result, I hope, will be one which is more personally successful.
Self-Actualisation and Achievement Are Not The Same Thing
This clearly matters to me a lot because otherwise why bother? Running a business has its challenges. Let’s face it who wants to worry about cashflow and VAT returns? Not me, that’s for sure. While I love the work and deeply value the autonomy, being a solopreneur means that one moment I am rehearsing a keynote and the next minute paying an invoice. When we say the concept of ‘mattering’ or ‘significance’ is relevant to purpose, we are not joking. Something needs to matter enough to you that you will do it despite the sacrifices it will ask of you.
What matters to us motivates us. When we are feeling disgruntled with life and work, it may be because we are not spending our time and energy on what really matters to us. Purpose is said to provide ‘direction,’ because it refers to our overarching core goals and aspirations in life. What I understand in my case is that I want breadth as well as direction. Looking at my work through the ‘breadth and direction’ lens keeps it more ‘on purpose’ for me. It is a more deliberate way of living. I want a catalogue of interesting endeavours that matter to me rather than simply big headlines that others may find impressive.
As humans, we are destined for breadth. James Hollis, a Jungian psychotherapist, and author I greatly admire, has noted that at different times in our life, the psyche will withdraw support for life as it is. Your soul decides it is time for change and growth. This is exactly what it felt like for me. One day, the road I was on just felt too narrow. I wanted more space in my life. I wanted to be considered about how I directed my time, my skills, myself towards things that matter to me. I wanted to live a life and do work that fully expresses who I am. To do this, I sacrificed the security of my life, my career path as it was then but I gained something else. I became who I am supposed to be. I am much more expanded version of myself than I was then. For me, there is no question. It was worth the sacrifice.
There is a classic coaching question – what would you do if I gave you ten million dollars? It removes fear of failure. What is your answer to this question? It will tell you a lot about what really matters to you. My answer used to be I would take time off to study psychology. Today my answer is nothing would really change. Clearly, I would no longer have to worry about cashflow or VAT returns and that would be rather lovely I will admit. But I wouldn’t change the structure of the business or what I am currently working on creatively.
Transitions & Redefining Your Work Archetype
Early in our working lives or career, we may have no need to be definitive about what we are seeking through our work. We have yet to establish what real form our work will take. Ideally, you should be interested in what you are doing but equally you need to build skills, experience and, most of all, you probably need money. At some point, transition calls. The transition could simply be it is time to work for another firm. Perhaps, like me, it is a midlife awakening and a yearning for greater purpose and authenticity. It may be time for you to consider starting the business you always dreamed of or that you are now entering the transition towards retirement.
When these moments of shift arise, they can be difficult. We know we feel called towards something else, but we don’t know what that something else is. People often comment how eloquent I am in describing my transition. I am now but I promise I wasn’t at the beginning. I couldn’t put words to exactly what was happening except I knew I needed to act on it. For this reason, I learned to love the power of symbols, archetypes, and mythology. They helped me tap into parts of myself I was not yet expressing. We all have an innate sense we have untapped potential inside us which needs to be brought into solid form. In every acorn, the seed of an oak tree is already there. I believe this is true of every human being; the seeds of who you are destined to become are already there. Things you secretly know are meant for you. You simply need the tools to bring what you are feeling and sensing is ready to grow and be seen into the light.
To live the life intended for us, we must be willing to listen to what our inner voice is telling us. Art, archetypes, mythology, or nature help us bridge the gap between what is already conscious and what is still unconscious. They help bring the longings locked deep inside our unconscious to life. They provide ways to take us away from the rational mind and into what is intuitive and felt. Symbolism and archetypes are everywhere in day-to-day life to draw on. If I were to choose animals that resonate with me for example, I would say a lion (naturally - top of the food chain! Also regal, in right relationship with their power, courageous), a spider (intensely creative and tenacious - dust away her web, she simply starts again with the same care and beauty), birds (full of joy singing their little hearts out– great symbols of freedom & self-actualisation). I would guess you already have a spirit animal to which you are drawn. Reflecting on, journalling about, and identifying an archetype, symbol, or metaphor for what you want your work and life to look and feel like will help you tap into clues of what is the correct path for yourself when words fail to describe what you are seeking.
Every Archetype Has A Drawback
Nothing is perfect. No matter what you choose, you will need to accept something about it. For me, my choices have proved to have two main drawbacks. The first is the most obvious – financial uncertainty. This was a known unknown. I knew this before I started and accepted it. The second I didn’t consider and is the one I consider the biggest drawback. When you run a business like mine, you have no colleagues and lack a work community. Ask any solopreneur and it is the number one thing they struggle with.
The set up of the business reflects the polarities of both my personality and the work I do. Some of work I do requires solitude. To write, I need space and silence. To protect that need, I rise early and write religiously between 7am and 9am every weekday. It is a very productive time of the day for me before emails, phone calls or other potential distractions start. Equally, I need community and connection. I love conversing with people on topics that interest me. It feeds a part of me, and it enhances my work. I get snippets of this when I am speaking at events but it is not enough. My coach asked me recently if I sometimes get ‘work lonely’ and she was onto something. If my chosen work archetype has a major drawback, it is this one. Something I will explore more in 2024 is solutions to this. Now that the identity of the business is more established, it feels more timely to consider collaborative opportunities.
Redefining Our Working Lives
I believe I am not alone in this endeavour to lead a more fully expressed life. This desire for greater texture and breadth in life will become a bigger demand from people globally and one which employers will need to tackle in the form of flexibility, sabbaticals and, indeed, purposeful interesting work.
Designing our careers rather than our careers designing us is part of our future. Career paths disrupted by innovation, changing industries, second careers, side interests are coming whether we plan for it or not. Staying in the same career or industry for your whole life will not just be less typical but almost impossible in the future. Multi-disciplinary experience, in my view, will be more valued. With the advancement of AI, the speed of growth, the emergence of new industries, never has the ground been more fertile for making positive change in your life if that is what you desire. Considering an ideal work archetype offers you clarity and helps you understand what brings meaning and purpose and joy to your working life and why.
Deciding we want something different to what we have is always daunting. It typically starts with a period of denial before we can even accept it. It can be too easy to stay and follow a path carved by others for you. This doesn’t lead to fulfilment; it leads to disillusionment. An important ingredient in making real what you want in life or work is accepting the agency you have to make choices for yourself. Only you have the power to actualise your potential. There is no other way. To become who you are destined to be or do the work you want to do means you must to be willing to take the reins and lead in your own life.
Below I have included some suggested journalling ideas on this topic:
Questions to reflect on:
If I were a character from a movie, who would I be and why?
What animal am I and why?
Why symbol best describes the life and work I wish to have?
Is there an example of what I am seeking in life and work? A person whose approach to life and work I admire.
If it is a time of transition for me, what archetype do I want to leave behind? What new archetype am I embracing?