Does The Work That Sparks Us Truly Change Over Time?

We all have a unique impulse or imprint, a DNA-level driver of work that makes us come alive -- your Sparketype?. It's often hidden, obscured by surface-level expressions -- jobs, titles, roles, or industries -- but it's always there. More than 35,000,000 data-points from 700,000+ people who've completed our Sparketype Assessment have given us great insight into these impulses.

Often a question comes up: does your deepest imprint for work that makes you come alive change over time?

In this week's SPARKED Podcast episode, listener Quentin shares how he's begun to think more deeply about his Sparketype and whether it's changed since launching his business as a health coach and nutrition and wellness consultant after years of working as a front-line healthcare worker.?

Despite his Primary Sparketype being a Nurturer, he's found himself doing more of the work of the Maker and Adviser as he brings his business to life. This makes sense, it's what this new adventure demands. And to add to his conundrum, Quentin recalls a time when his Anti Sparketype (most draining work) was what he did most of the day in his previous career in broadcasting. So, what's "really" going on here?

In today's SPARKED Podcast, we dive into his inquiry:?

Can your Sparketype or imprint for work that Sparks you change over time? Or is it more about understanding your impulses and how they're best expressed and shifted around in different seasons of life??

To help navigate these interesting questions and offer insights, ideas, and strategies, we're joined by Jadah Sellner, the founder and CEO of Jadah Sellner Media, co-founder of Simple Green Smoothies, host of the Lead with Love Podcast, and a business mentor and coach.?

For most of us, we've worked in more than one industry throughout our careers or have done different types of work that might've leaned on or aligned with more of our interests or strengths than others. But, at some point, it's worth it to ask ourselves if we may be confusing what we're good at, what we're "tasked" with doing, what we're paid to do with the underlying impulse that drives us or makes us come alive in work and life.?

Look at it this way: If you're good at something and you're shown that your skills are valuable by being compensated for it, it can be easy to think that it's your one true Spark or you've found "the" thing.

Competence in one domain can sometimes obscure or even stifle the expression of a truer, more purpose and energy-generating impulse for effort in another.

When we look closer, we sometimes find that we're wearing specific hats that only serves a function for a particular time and place in work and life, but through them all, our underlying impulse remains largely veiled, untapped, and unchanged.?

There isn't a definitive answer to whether your Sparketype changes over time because even with all the data we possess, we aren't able to get information for anyone that spans a lifetime. But the data and anecdotes we do have point strongly to idea that our Sparketype imprints are with us from an early age and, for most people, remain relatively stable.?

If you're interested in diving deeper into this exploration of how we identify our Sparketypes, how our impulses are often expressed (or held back) in different seasons of life, how to work in alignment with these drivers, and understand the role self-awareness plays in it all, you'll want to listen to the fuller conversation of this week's SPARKED Podcast.?

You can dive in now by hitting play on the player below or listen on your favorite podcast app!

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And if you're curious about learning your unique imprint for work that makes you come alive, aka, your Sparketype, check out the free Sparketype Assessment here!?