Hello and welcome back to unfolding. I'm Erica Voell, a confidence and wellbeing coach and a certified Human Design guide. And I use tools like human design, coaching and Reiki to help women in midlife say no to what drains them, because then they learn how to trust their decisions and understand their unique strengths. And together we clear old patterns so that they can make confident decisions and start putting themselves first. I say in every episode, your human design is your permission to do things differently with confidence. And today, I wanna take that idea one step further. What if your human design type or any other part of your chart isn't a label at all, but a permission slip? The kind you used to take to school from your parents that was signed and it said, "my kid is allowed to..." And that's what we're talking about today, how understanding simple parts like type of your human design chart, especially as a parent or a partner, can shift everything. And why I will never ask someone, what do you do the same way again? This is a conversation I wish I could have had with myself years ago, and I also know back then I was not ready to hear it. One of my favorite things when I hear people after a workshop or a session is. "Oh my God, this is so good. I wonder what my partner or my kid or my sister is?" and at workshops that often run their partner kids charts right there and I hear, "oh my gosh, that makes so much sense." And it's fascinating what we can learn about a person from their birth date, their birth time, and the location. You learn how someone is designed to make decisions and so many other things. And why that one kid was always getting in trouble for doing things without asking permission only to later learn that they're a manifester and they're here to be bold and initiate and bring disruptive ideas. Or maybe they were labeled as lazy, when really their energy flows differently throughout the day because they're a projector and they're designed to rest more. They need that rest. I've worked with manifesting generators who've told me that their parents were so frustrated with them when that they couldn't stick with one thing and honestly, they're not supposed to. Manifesting generators are here to pivot when something new lights them up, that's their design. And for generators when they're doing something that they love, that time can disappear. They get that satisfying Full-bodied. Yes. And they go for it. And then there are the reflectors, which were a lot of times labeled the two sensitive kids or the ones who were "too much" when reality they were absorbing and reflecting everything in their environment. And they're the ones who can see what others can't. And they're the really our early warning sign for unhealthy spaces. We grow up with so many labels, the good student, the bad kid, the troublemaker, the bossy girl. The lazy kid. And then we trade them for new labels as adults, lawyer, mom, project manager, the organizer. And we take them on not only as labels, but many times we take them on as our identities that we use to define ourselves. How often when you meet someone new is the first thing that they say to you, "so what do you do?" As if that's the one thing that defines who you are as a person, is that job or that label or that title you have. What if instead someone asked you? "What lights you up?" "What brings you joy?" Would you even know what to say? I don't know if I would, and I think most people wouldn't, because somewhere along the way we learn to focus on what we should do instead of what truly, truly calls us. One of the reasons I bring up type so much is because that's usually where people start. They look up their chart online and they see that they are a manifester, a generator, a manifesting generator, a reflector, or a projector, and then there's a number in front of it, and. That's what they, they know, but they don't know what it means. And it's what people are most familiar with. 'cause it's actually a really easy place to start. But human design is so much more than just type. And one of my favorite pieces for myself is my profile. So my numbers in the front, it looks like a fraction. I'm a five one, so it looks like a fraction of a five slash one, which is also known as the problem solver and investigator and I. Have grown to love it. It describes me so much. It describes my lived experience and it also sort of sounds secret spy- like I have a cool badge that I get to flash when I'm undercover. Like, hold on, I got this. I'm an expert at finding patterns. But here's the thing, it's a label. It's a fun one and also a helpful one. It tells me a lot about myself. But when we start to clinging to these labels as our identities is when we get stuck. Or maybe you're in a life transition. Maybe you're switching careers like I am. You're becoming an empty nester, or you're rethinking how you actually want to live the rest of your life. Those old labels stop working or you just wanna drop them out of your life completely. And labels can be like lenses. They can help us see, but they're not who we are. And when we give ourselves permission to see these labels as tools instead of boxes to fit into, then things start to shift. It happens when you start noticing glimmers of joy or little sparks of what might be next, but they're these little fragile things at first. And when I work with parents, it's also the same thing. We tend to hand out labels to our kids. It's what we've always known. I know I have, I have a precocious kid. I've said it a lot. But what if your human design type or profile isn't a label? What if it's actually a permission slip? That permission slip to stop trying to fit in and instead lean into what already feels so true to you? It may not have even felt true to you since you were a kid, and if you're a generator. I'm giving you a permission slip to seek out what truly lights you up and let yourself do more of that. And if you're a manifesting generator, I'm giving you a permission slip to say, "I'm done with this. It doesn't excite me anymore." And to pivot towards something new. And if you're a manifester, stop asking for permission. You don't need permission. You're not here to wait. You're here to inform and take bold, amazing action. And if you're a projector, your permission is to drop the unsolicited advice giver label because you are a guide. Let yourself be recognized and invited in. You're here to see what others miss and reflect it back to them with wisdom. And for my reflectors, you are so deeply in tune with our environment. I want you to give yourself permission to step back from spaces that don't feel good. 'cause your body knows, you know. And that's why I say every episode, your design is your permission to do things differently with confidence, because I truly mean it. I love to share how human design can be practical. That's part of me being a 5/ 1 is bringing in a system that's very complex and making it very practical to other people. Human design is a really complex system and yet exploring different parts of it shows you how you bring out the whole you, and to give yourself permission to do things differently and to be the whole you. To start seeing things that you may have always felt like were flaws in a new light. And to be able to recognize the light in you so that you can bring these gifts into the world because they are being uniquely expressed through you. And we need more people sharing their light and the gifts with their world right now instead of falling in line and fitting themselves into a box. Because let's be honest, falling in line right now is not what is needed. We need everyone's full lights in this dark time, especially in the United States. Living your full self, being fully embodied as yourself, that is exactly what the powers in charge are most afraid of. It's what they want to tamp down. It's what they are trying to shut down. So I offer these insights into human design as a way for you to see that these parts of your design are really your permission to do things differently. And when I began to pay attention to what lights me up as a generator. I started saying no to things that didn't feel good, and I started setting clearer boundaries. And sure it didn't make everybody happy. It still doesn't make them happy, but it makes me happy and I'm the one who has to live the rest of my life with me, and I've really started to think a lot about this lately. When I'm at the end of my life, what do I want to say? Do I want to say I lived a life that made other people comfortable? Or do I want to say I lived a life that felt so damn good, so aligned, so me that I would not change a thing. And yeah, we throw words around like happiness a lot, but when you really feel into it, that deep sense of alignment and fulfillment, joy and gratitude and contentment, that's the kind of happiness I'm talking about. I know we won't get there overnight, but one thing you can do is start with what I ask my clients to do. Make a list of 10 things that light you up. Some of mine include naps, dancing and music, journaling, meditation, time outside, reading a book uninterrupted for hours without being sick, sitting in silence. So keep your list where you can see it, and when you're having a rough day, look at it. Pick one thing, give yourself that one thing. Even writing it down begins the process, because writing activates your brain's reticular activating system that helps you notice and then create more of what you want. Like have you ever wanted to buy a car and you've thought, I want to buy this car, and then. Everywhere you see those cars, they've always been there, but now your body and your brain are noticing it, and it's the same thing. If you wanna bring more joy into your life or whatever you want or desire, write it down. Activate that reticular activating system, name it, embody it, live it. Be that person and be your future self. You can imagine putting those clothes on every morning and then notice what shifts. So I've started doing this since I decided to leave my current job and people are noticing, they're asking me what is different about me. They've asked if I've gotten a haircut and something is different. I'm embracing and I am embodying my future self and it's shifting things for me. One of my teachers talks about writing down your future memories will be how do you want to feel? And this is how you begin to step into embodying your design. This is how you move from labels into truly being. So next time you meet someone, I challenge you, instead of asking, what do you do? Try asking them What's bringing you joy lately or So, tell me about something that lights you up. It might be awkward, but you never know what beautiful conversation might actually unfold. Thanks for spending time with me today, and until next time, take care of your energy, take care of you, and your joy, and remember, you're not too much, you're not behind, and you're just beginning to unfold. Thanks for joining me.