20 | Using Human Design to Navigate Burnout, Identity Shifts & What's Next - with Anna Nichols

What if burnout isn’t the problem—misalignment is?

In this episode, I sit down with Human Design Mentor and Business Strategist Anna Nichols to unpack how Human Design can help you make decisions with more clarity, protect your energy, and reconnect with your true self—especially if you’re in the messy middle of a life or career transition.

We talk about:

• The 4 most important parts of your chart (and how to use them)
• How Human Design gives language to things you’ve always felt (but might not have "known")
• What it means to decondition and stop living by other people’s rules
• Why understanding your energy type helps you break free from burnout

If you’ve ever asked “what’s next for me?” or felt like you were living someone else’s life, this episode is your invitation to start experimenting with something different.

As always...stay bold, stay balanced, and I'll see you next week.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Anna Nichols the founder of the Spiritual Business Incubator where she helps spiritual entrepreneurs use a blend of practical business strategies with an innovative perspective on Human Design to feel confident in exactly who they are, clarity on what kind of business they are meant to build, and step-by-step direction on how they are meant to build it. Anna is the host of the "Design and Align Your Business" podcast, where she shares practical ways to use Human Design in entrepreneurship. Combining wisdom from her Master's Degree in Business, 15+ of business development experience, and as a leader in the Human Design for Business industry, Anna’s mission is to help heart-lead, visionary entrepreneurs bring their big business visions to life!

Connect with Anna on LinkedIn HERE

Connect with Anna on Instagram HERE

Love the pod and want more?

The Weekly Brew is your behind-the-scenes voice note from Carly - think real stories, quick hits of wisdom, and the occasional tough love to help you stay bold, grounded, and moving forward.

📩 Click here to get it in your inbox.

Transcript

0:00:05

Carly

Welcome to Coffee with Carly, your weekly wake up call to a happier, healthier life. I'm your host, Carly Shade, and I'm here to uncover how good life can get. Welcome back, everyone. Good morning to another episode of Coffee with Carly. Today's topic is all about human design. So some of you have maybe never heard of this. I had not heard of it until about, I think it was three years ago now. But I really didn't kind of take a deep dive into learning about it till about this last year.

0:00:46

Carly

And so not only is learning about your human design honestly just fun, like I really became addicted to it, but it has had a huge impact in my life and my business. And I just knew that this topic is something that I wanted to share with you all. So that's why I'm so excited to introduce you to today's guest, Anna Nichols, who is a business strategist and human design mentor. Welcome to the podcast, Anna.

0:01:14

Anna

Thank you so much, Carly. I'm so happy to be here.

0:01:17

Carly

Let's just dive right into it because I have so many questions for you. I'm clearly very, very excited about this topic and I don't think, especially for my listeners, that most people have heard of human design. So what is it?

0:01:32

Anna

Human design, from my perspective, you know, there's so many ways to like define it. But what I love to say, it's a self discovery tool that blends ancient and modern wisdom. And so what that is is it's combining things like astrology, the chakra system, the Kabbalah, I Ching and quantum physics into this like into essentially a personality test that knows you better than you know yourself. And it's so fun to pull up your human design.

0:02:06

Anna

They call it a body graph. It's this chart, kind of looks like the chakras and there's a lot of numbers on it and what it is doing. It's based on the date, time and location of your birth, much like astrology. And it's telling you what type of energy you have, how you make decisions, what are your highest gifts, how are you meant to impact the world, what like purpose are you here to fulfill? And there's so much depth that you can get out of this one tool.

0:02:37

Anna

But at its simplest, I think that what I've loved about it the most is that the things about me that like I always knew but didn't, I saw different things in other people. So I maybe doubted about myself. It's been the best realignment tool for me to know who I am and honor that Difference compared to people around me that aren't the same. And now I see it in a whole different way.

0:03:06

Carly

That's amazing. It's the best tool ever. And I love what you said about combining ancient with modern wisdom, because I think also that's something that we talk about on the podcast all the time, and it's like, bold and balanced or like, masculine, feminine. And the best things that I think we're all discovering in today's world is combining. It's the best of both worlds. Right. Like, it has this modern edge to it especially, which I'm sure when you bring into the business side of things and this ancient wisdom.

0:03:33

Carly

And I love what you said of, like, it's a personality test that, like, knows you more than you know yourself. Because that's at least what I found is, like, it really puts. It gave me a vocabulary that I didn't quite know. Right. Like, a lot of us are trying to figure out, like, who we are and what our values, and it's a really hard place to start. And so coming to your human design, like you said, can be, like, a realignment. Right. It can give you some, like, north star direction starting point to getting to know yourself.

0:04:05

Anna

Well, when I read my chart the first time, I had this, like, relief of, like, things about me that I knew were okay and were real and they're mine. And then there were other parts. I was like, did I enter my information wrong? Because they didn't resonate at all. And it's interesting because I was so out of alignment in some areas of my life. Like, this particular piece was how I make decisions that I had, like, shut off that part of myself because I worked in a, like, really masculine, corporate, like, high stress world. And so, like, using intuition and my, like, gut responses to make decision was not honored there versus, like, having to use my brain and analytics. And so that was something that on my own journey and on so many of the people who I've introduced to human design and help learn it, it's teaching you a piece of yourself that, like, you knew was in there somewhere, but bringing that awareness of, wow, here's an area that I need to spend some time getting to know and understand a little more deeply.

0:05:13

Carly

Cool. So, okay, before we. Before we get too far into. Because you and I are going to nerd out about this because we both know a lot, but before we get too far into it, so you've talked about parts of your chart of making decisions or things like that, and what we've learned is, like, reading your Human design charts what you're given. So what are the four most basic or like biggest parts of your chart that we should be looking at or learning from for like a new beginner?

0:05:42

Anna

So the common thing that people know about themselves is their energy type. Even if they're like really new to human design or you'll see it. And that's like the first thing. After you see the picture down below, there's usually like written description about all of the parts and they call it your energy type. And that is actually talks about your aura and how your actual individual energy interacts with the world around you.

0:06:09

Anna

And this is so important because so many people. There's five different types. And I'll give a little story about this, which is that people believe that we're all supposed to interact the same way. And that is not how it's meant to be, but it gives you this like permission to understand how you naturally interact with other people in the most like, authentic way. And I'll probably let me go through these four things, just high level. And then I'll give my story because I think it'll add a little bit more knowing some of these other pieces.

0:06:44

Anna

Perfect. So understanding how your energy works and how you interact with people, that is like a huge, like foundational. People ask if you know what's your human design like? That's one of the answers you would give. The second one is your profile. So this is a fraction number with numbers between 1 and 6 in different combinations. And that is like the personality profile that you kind of outwardly play.

0:07:11

Anna

And there's lines one through six which are, you know, maybe it's a researcher, a hermit or a explorer communicate or a connector, a problem solver or a role model. And these are like some of the simple words that we use, but you're really seeing like characters when you think about the profile. Well, it's really cool about the human design profiles is that because it's made up of two numbers. The first number is the outward personality that people are seeking from you, that you love to share with the world.

0:07:48

Anna

The second number is actually your unconscious personality. And it's who you are meant to be, how you're meant to show up, to nourish yourself. And that's something that's not shared, I think, in a lot of the different tools that may help you with your personality or getting to know yourself a little more deeply. So I love that. And then the third one is they call it your authority, which is how you make decisions.

0:08:13

Anna

And, and in human design you make decisions with your body, not your mind. And there's a lot of different ways. So it's like whether that's that gut, you know, my gut says this, or it's your intuition. Sometimes it's even your using your voice and speaking, riding an emotional wave. There's a lot of different ways you could make decisions with your body. And that having that awareness is so helpful, especially because some, a lot of people are like, oh, just trust your gut. Well, fun fact, folks. Less than 40% of the population have that authority.

0:08:52

Anna

So a lot of people who are trying to trust their gut don't even have that mechanic inside of them. So you're like, oh, I don't know, my gut isn't very trustworthy because you might actually have a different way of making decisions. And then the last piece that I actually love to help people, at least just introduce them to this phraseology, is your incarnation Cross, which is in human design, your life purpose or your life theme.

0:09:18

Anna

And it's a, like a theme, something that's going to keep coming up, whether in your life, in your business, in your relationships. It's kind of the role you're not just the role you're here to play, but the mission you're here to fulfill with this unique energy, with this unique role that you have. And I have found in the work that I do, whether in personal lives or professional, in the business world, the more that we can intentionally align ourselves with doing things related to our incarnation Cross, the easier things happen in our lives because everything's wanting to redirect you to fulfilling that mission.

0:09:58

Anna

And, and when you are off track, the universe, everything's gonna, like, bring you back. So let's just get on the like tube, I say, and float down the river instead of trying to walk backwards against the current. And so this story that I'd like to give, it's particularly about types, but it helps people understand just the five overarching categories of people and how we interact and not just interact with each other, but how we're meant to work together.

0:10:27

Anna

So I live in Colorado, and the story starts off that we have these five friends who are going on a hike and they all want to have this amazing experience. They're all connected, but have different gifts, different needs. On the hike, well, our manifester friends, which is one of the types and about 9% of the population, they're here to initiate and get us started. And so they're going to look at the top of the mountain, say, this is the, the best spot. This is the point where we need to go, everyone's going to love it there based on what they desire.

0:11:03

Anna

And this is the place we need to go. Well, then our projector friends there, that's about 22% of the population. In Carly, you are a projector, and so what you're doing is, like, you have the ability to see based on everybody's needs. Maybe someone wants to not have a lot of elevation, incline very quickly. Maybe they want to stay in the shade more than in the sun. So you're going, like, this is the best path for us to get where we want to go.

0:11:33

Anna

Then our generator friends come in, and I'm a generator, and we are like the. The energizer battery, the. What I like to sometimes call, like, the cheerleaders. Like, we are fueling the group to get started, keep going. Like, we're actually sharing our energy with the group in order to get things moving and keep them moving in a really steady way. And generators make up about 35% of the population.

0:12:04

Anna

The next what happens is we are on our path and there is a log that falls into the road, and we're like, well, what are we supposed to do? How do we get through this? And the manifesting generators, which are 35 to 40% of the population, they have that energy to move, but also are able to pivot. And so they're going to be able to problem solve and get us through that log. Like, do we need to go around?

0:12:32

Anna

Can we move it? Do we, like, build something to go over it? Like, the manifesting generators are going to have this, like, push of energy to get us through something that was unexpected on the journey. And then when we get to the top of the mountain, our reflector friends, which are only 1% of the population, they are going to look back on our experience. They're going to reflect back what everyone's experience was, and they're going to share this.

0:12:58

Anna

These lessons for us, how we can do it better next time, how, you know, this was successful this time. All of that happens. And in that story, it shows how we're all meant to do different things, but we all get to the same place working together.

0:13:18

Carly

What an amazing analogy. Thank you. And, I mean, I actually learned a ton because. Right. Like, I knew that I'm a projector, and so I've kind of, like, honed in on that. But I love what you said about it's. It is the collective, because I think sometimes when we go down these personality types or this astrology or human design, whatever, we can Just start to like, even my own case, right. Like, I'm a projector. I'm just focused on myself. But when you zoom out, it's like, human design is like, well, these five types, these energy types are meant to work together.

0:13:50

Carly

And only when we run into issues is when, like, one is more dominating the other, or when we're trying to do roles that aren't ours. Right. It's like any with teamwork, like, you can't have all five leaders that are, like, trying to lead from the front or all five leaders trying to lead from the pack, or, like, all five followers. You know, it's like when you do look at the collective of humans as a whole, like, everyone has their roles, and we all win when we all try to live in a way that's aligned with ourselves.

0:14:22

Anna

Yeah. In human design, there's this phrase that I love. It says that when we all lean into our unique design, the whole collective rises. And another analogy that I love of this, because my family is originally from Poland. And so, like, I also live in, like, a rural community in Colorado.

0:14:38

Carly

So.

0:14:39

Anna

So, like the old days, the farmers would go to the fields and the fishermen would go to the ocean, and they would do their jobs, right? Like, get food for the community and bring it together. And the whole community was fed and everyone kind of had their job. And it's similar, but different. But you can see this idea of when we're talking about the collective, not everyone is a great fisherman, not everyone is a great farmer.

0:15:06

Anna

And in the same sense, with human design, in the unique gifts that each of these types have, we have those gifts for a reason. And to what you were saying about who's leading when and how sometimes you need a generator in charge to help get things moving or, like, get the, like, energy going. And sometimes you need a projector because you've just spent a lot of energy and you need to, like, focus in. In a different direction or get some clarity in a way that you didn't have before or any of the different gifts of the types.

0:15:39

Anna

But the point is that we cannot fulfill our purpose or be ourselves at our greatest on our own. It's in relation to other people that get, like, energy from us, wisdom from us, initiation from us. And actually, in human design, one of the things that is really cool when you look at the chart, there's a bunch of shapes and numbers and channels that connect all of this. And some of them are colored in, and some of them are not colored in.

0:16:10

Anna

And the things that are colored in are called your Defined attributes. Or it's these are gifts you are here to give versus the things that are not colored in, are undefined. And those are gifts you are here to receive. And it's not to say that you don't have them at all. It just means that if things are undefined, you have a less consistent way of achieving those, doing those things and fulfilling whatever that is.

0:16:39

Anna

But when you tap in with someone, like you're a projector and I'm a generator, our energy mixes. And so you're receiving the gifts that I have to give, I'm receiving the gifts you have to give. And we are better together than when we are apart.

0:16:53

Carly

Oh, I love that. My fiance Matt is a generator. And I'm like, so for context, projectors don't have a lot of energy. They don't have their own energy sour, like you're saying generators do. So I do. All of a sudden, I'm amazed at the amount of things that I'm able to accomplish when I'm with Matt, because I'm borrowing his energy. But just why I love human design and why I really wanted to talk about this episode is, you know, a lot of listeners too are. Are just really, a lot of my clients are, I think, just, we're shifting. We're experiencing a shift in the world where, like, we're done doing things a certain way. A lot of people are just like, I'm not happy in my life. I'm not happy with what I'm doing. I'm searching for fulfillment, I'm searching for purpose. Like, I. I wanna do things differently.

0:17:36

Carly

And this is why I recommend human design just as a tool for anyone who's maybe in a little bit of that in between. Because again, like, we all talk about embodiment or intuition or our gut reaction or, you know, there's all these big words. And even for me, I was like, I don't even know what embodiment. I like, just learned what that actually meant in my own perspective, like a year ago. And so what human design did for me was really give me, like I said, a vocabulary direction or it was a starting point to help navigate the messy in between.

0:18:12

Carly

I was operating as a generator for a really long time. I mean, and we kind of live in a generate, like our society is kind of built around generator dominated because, I mean, they make up, man, 70% of the population. 70%. And so for me, it was like, you know, people can think what they want about the personality types, about the woos, whatever, but it gave me a direction to go, right, I was operating in this way, which was not protecting my energy, not setting boundaries, you know, and. And I felt so disconnected from my body. That's what started this whole journey was like, I want to come back to the mind, body connection. The body, mind connection. And, you know, I just felt like I was floating in the wind.

0:18:54

Carly

And so human design gave me a starting point to try something different, right? People can. You can also just try it, and maybe you don't like it, maybe you don't resonate with it, but I was doing something one way. And then human design was actually giving me like a. A guidebook to start living the way that I wanted to experiment, right? Like, I wanted to experiment with maybe not just stuck in this productive dopamine checklist cycle. Or start with like, oh, like, I do have this intuition, right? Like, my.

0:19:28

Carly

My authority is my spleen, my intuition. Like, I have to. To really live in design for myself, I have to become connected to my body and quiet the mind, which was, like, totally unchecked, you know. And so I really do recommend anybody just, just, like, give it a try because it really, it does help put words and actionable steps to some of these things that we're craving. Purpose fulfillment, you know, sustainable growth instead of burnout.

0:20:00

Carly

And so with that, like, what. What are some things that people can start doing? I mean, read their chart. But what are some other, like, advice that you have for starting to shift into this, like, new alignment?

0:20:14

Anna

So I always recommend people to go down the Google rabbit hole. And even though, like, I have, you know, a deeper report, if you're an entrepreneur where you can look at what all of the parts of human design mean through that lens of entrepreneurship. But there are many teachers out there on human design, many blogs, YouTube videos. Like, there's so much content and what I. There's so many good books.

0:20:41

Anna

Even I am writing a book related to business planning with human design that comes out fall 2025. But that you may not resonate with one person's definition of it, but you may need like two or three versions. Because the language that people will use is through their contacts, through the way that they teach it and hearing it sometimes from not even just the way that they teach it, but different words that are trying to describe the same thing might resonate with you more deeply than, like, one over the other.

0:21:14

Anna

So I encourage people to do that, especially if you're new, because, like, I remember one of the first things that I read was from, like, the original person who, like, brought human design to Us. And the words were kind of negative. Like, it. There was this. It was just old language, but the language was not empowering and I didn't love it. And then as I continue to search and like students of his and that evolved, even felt some of the same things. And then they started redefining human design. Like, the core essence is there and that the meaning and intention and all of it is there.

0:21:53

Anna

But they're taking things like example. I have one of my profile lines is the hermit, and it's also actually known as the natural genius. The point of being a hermit is not just to hide from the world, but it is to be on your own. So you have that time and space to think, to tap into your intuition, to like, get the noise out from other people's ideas and get really clear on what you are meant to create, what you want to do.

0:22:20

Anna

And I remember reading the Hermit, I was like, this is lame. And then when it started showing me that I'm like, supposed to find my gifts during that hermit season, or like revolution, ignite my own fire to go and help people, because that was the point of being the hermit. That was just the first word, right, that someone used to define it. So to the point of this is let yourself go down the Google rabbit hole, especially around these four things.

0:22:51

Anna

Your type, your profile, your authority, and your incarnation. Cross and you will be amazed at what you find.

0:22:59

Carly

I can attest to that. And I love that you brought that up about using different platforms, because it's again, I've gone down, I've gone down the rabbit hole. I've done several different readings from different experts and all very different information. And I too also have a two line, the hermit. Right. And. And you can interpret things, you know, different ways. And it's funny because I have a 2, 4, which is hermit, slash, natural genius.

0:23:25

Carly

And the 4 is like the connector, the opportunist. Like, really, you know, my success is going to come from the people that I know in my network and I get fulfillment through, you know, my connections with others. And so it was that for one of the first readings where I was like, I was a hermit and I was kind of like, right, coming off the back of burnout. And I was like, I can't see anyone. And like, I'm meant to, you know, live a life of solitude. And I really swung like the other way.

0:23:51

Carly

And then once I started to come out again, it was like, oh, wait, like, I feel really energized and fulfilled when I'm with people. And the right People and connected. And. And so I think, again, for anyone that maybe has thoughts, right, about, like, astrology or personality hits, whatever it's like, it is obviously interpretation and how you incorporate in your life, but also the more that, you know, like, the more educated and aware you can become, but it really, really can bring a greater awareness to just trying something different.

0:24:26

Anna

Well, and one of the things I love about human design. So there are 64 gates, which are these, like, individual skills that are identified that we have. And where quantum physics comes into this, they're actually mapped to the genetic genetics. And that. Yeah, isn't that fascinating? And it is. We could just have a whole episode just on this, honestly. But it's the point being that certain genes that we have, right? Like, people will have these same gates and their human design and that, like, because of different things that your date, time and location say.

0:25:01

Anna

But they'll also have the same genetic markers as someone else if they have these same gifts or these same skittles, these gates. And I thought that was just like, such a cool grounding connection because you think of, like, who are the people who are natural athletes, or maybe they're really good problem solvers or maybe they're, like, really artistic and creative and, like, not only is this thing telling you this based on where you were born and when, but all the way to a genetic level. And that really, for me, brings more depth and, like, I don't know, grounded energy into using this tool.

0:25:42

Carly

And what I've loved about it. I mean, one, give me a good science fact with, like, an energetic thing like the quantum physics and the DNA and all that. Like, hell, yeah, that's. That gets me jazzed. But we recently read a book, Ann and I are in the same mastermind as well, about Zone of Genius and Zone of Competence, which, again, I think a lot of my listeners are sometimes in that messy in between. It's like, what's next for me.

0:26:08

Carly

And so the human design can really help us figure out our zone of genius. That's like, what we're meant to do. What comes easy to us, what lights us up and where a lot of people get stuck is our zone of competence. And again, why I just encourage everybody to just play around with human design is because, like you said, it can bring out things we aren't aware of in ourselves. You know, it. It helps us dream a little bigger, is what I would say. Right. Like, I used to always think I was the science girly, and, you know, I was very logical.

0:26:41

Carly

Well, here I was to find out that my entire brain is creative. It's the right brained creative side, which is actually means, like, logic and linear things and like, organization actually really don't work for me and that I'm meant to create. And so again, like, it kind of planted this seed in my head of, like. And that's how I got here today, right, with the podcast with what is like, it kind of gave me this permission where it's like, Carly, you actually are creative and you're meant to flow and you're meant to, you know, go find things that are inspiring.

0:27:16

Carly

And so when we just. When someone else kind of gives us that permission, it really does help expand the box of figuring out what we're meant to do next.

0:27:27

Anna

You know, another actual way to think about this, because this my experience. And it's funny that you're all right, I'm all left, which is why I do business strategy, planning, organization. Like, people have, like, the most, like, clear businesses working with me. But the. Your highest gift in human design is something that is really interesting to look at. And if you ever. If you're pulling your chart after listening to this episode, it's the top right number in. There's two columns of numbers on the right and left, and it's the top right one. It's called your personality, son.

0:28:01

Anna

But I was annoyed about the thing that was my highest gift because mine is starting. And it's like starting, getting things moving, like, difficulty at the beginning. And my whole life, like, I was the project manager that they would bring in when they had, would have projects that couldn't get completed forever. Or, like, we'd have a group of friends and they're all sitting around and like, no one knows, like, what we want to do or what we want to eat or where we want to go.

0:28:29

Anna

And I, for my whole life, had this feeling of, like, why am I always the one getting things started? Like, I would really like someone else to get things started. And realizing then that was my gift. It's not that I was bad at starting, but I didn't have this awareness of something that was my gift. And I. It's interesting because now, like, when I do that in my business, I do that in my life a lot of ways still.

0:28:54

Anna

But sometimes I get tired of it. And I'm like, to my husband here, I would like you to start something for me or, you know, like to ask for help and support in areas where these are our gifts. But we also can, like, I don't even want to say overuse them, but when we use them all the time and aren't maybe taking care of ourselves or need to find different ways to care for ourselves. Just because you're good at something, it's your zone of genius.

0:29:22

Anna

Absolutely. Also means that you can get support in that place as well. And that was my own experience. Like, I pour so much into a lot of people that, like, I was like, you were going to plan our date night. This time I will get like, everything else set up, but you need to, like, figure out all these other details. So I just share that because to my original origin story of this. If when you see your chart and at first, maybe something's like, this doesn't resonate or I'm annoyed about this, or there's some parts of my chart that like, I have been bullied for or hurt for, because I am very direct and honest and kind of like, able to, like, bust through conflict pretty easily.

0:30:07

Anna

But that is uncomfortable for people sometimes. And I didn't know that that was just natural gifts that I had. And it gave me some permission also for, like, forgiveness for myself of like, oh, like, I understand why these things are mine and how they are gifts. And I think a really important thing that I want to add to anyone who's listening and looking at their human design. If you're looking for this permission, you're in this in between, right? Like, figuring out what your next step is part of the human design journey is called deconditioning.

0:30:42

Anna

And it's actually taking the time to look at the parts of your chart and where maybe you don't resonate with that or what doesn't feel like aligned to what who you have been designed to be and saying, like, what happened in my life that caused this. Me to feel this way about it? Because now, I mean, I've been on my human design experiment journey for about four years, and there are things that I very much remember getting bullied for that I now have strength and resilience for and serves my clients extremely well.

0:31:17

Anna

But in a different setting when I was the young 30, something that, like, was achieving really quickly and moving up the corporate ladder that wasn't received very well by certain people that had been in the organization decades longer than me. And so that those old stories that I was using to define myself or what was possible for me in the future, unraveling those and seeing how back to what I was saying, this is a gift, My human design is a gift for me to fulfill a mission, to serve the collective.

0:31:53

Anna

And that doesn't mean that that's every single human in the collective. But there are people who need what I have to do and what I want to do and I'm good at. So how do I put myself in those environments with those people in those communities so that I can fulfill not only my mission, but help them and the people that I'm here to serve.

0:32:13

Carly

The unconditioning, the unlearning is so important in. In. In the journey of again, navigating the mess in between or like, getting yourself back on course or realigning. And I, I love what you said about that with human design of. Because that's. I mean, that's what this whole podcast, these wake up calls, all these things, it comes with, like, some of these things that we really used to perceive as negative within ourselves are really often the power, really often a superpower, really often the things that actually we should be sharing more of.

0:32:47

Carly

And so, again, you know, the human design can give us a little bit of a guidebook to go inwards and to kind of take a look at ourselves and start to see us as a whole human being instead of only these certain aspects. And. And again, it gives us the permission to kind of unlearn because, I mean, that's. That's for me, right? Like, I am. I should be doing, doing, doing. And that's totally the opposite with my design.

0:33:11

Carly

And I love it because that is what I wanted. You know, that was my goal before. So the whole idea of navigating the messy in between usually comes back to just dropping the shoulds, right? Dropping all the conditioning that we have been believed. And that's again, why I really recommend people play with human design, because it can really help you drop some of the shoulds that, you know, don't feel good, but you just kind of like, need external permission and this might be it for you.

0:33:42

Anna

I'm going to share this fact because I. When I learned it, it blew my mind. But they actually say it takes seven years to fully decondition after you learn about human design and like, really start to go down that path because, right. Their cellular memory that we have, they talk about how, like, our body regenerates and like now it's regenerating from a different awareness. And there's. There's so much that, you know, even for those of us, like, I'm almost 40, so 30 years of my life I had spent thinking some thing different.

0:34:17

Anna

And that's really rooted in my mind, my subconscious, my body, and some of these things of, like, learning even how to make decisions with my sacral I had to, like, cleanse my gut. Right. Like, it. And that doesn't happen quickly either. Right. I had to learn different things, start shedding those layers. And they happen layer after layer, not just, like, with, like, a light switch on or off. And I share this because I think so many people, when we're in that messy middle, want to get out of it so much or it's maybe even just like, as you're getting out of it, sometimes, like, for me, it feels like one leg is still on the other side or stuck in. And it. It does take time. And I want to, like, give that permission for feel like, this is a journey. They actually call it the human design experiment or your human design journey.

0:35:12

Anna

Because theoretically, like, I'm not at my seven years yet. I'm at, like, year four. But what's happened, actually about after halfway, for me at least, has been that now things, when I see people that are different than me before, I still have this pull, like, on early side of, like, oh, maybe I should be like, that person. Whereas now I'm way more grounded in who I am, and I'm still, like, evolving and getting more in alignment, But I don't have as much of that pull or, like, feeling like I have to be the way that I used to be.

0:35:48

Carly

But thank you for that wonderful reminder and the comparison. Right. Like, it's a journey. Things take time. Growth takes time. And still, stop comparing yourself to everybody else. Right. And yourself, the old you. Right. Stop comparing yourself to other people and the old you. And I think that is a wonderful reminder. The biggest one, again, is that it all takes time. And so, like, we've got to start to learn to have fun in the process and play and experiment. And this is just one of those tools that can help you experiment with what's next and to learn more about yourself.

0:36:25

Carly

Because if you are in that messy in between, it is so much more important to know who you are than what you want. And this is a really wonderful tool to kind of help you get started with that. So if someone is listening and has a business and is interested in looking at it from that lens, we will absolutely include Anna's contact information on our website. And so you kind of provide, like, a basic reading you can help structure. You want to just give a couple sentences of kind of what you do in that business side.

0:36:57

Anna

Absolutely. So I also have a podcast, which is called the Design and Align your business podcast. And I teach about how to infuse human design, like, how to build your business from a human Design perspective. But also I have this like essentially it's a book. It's like a 50 page report where it's your specific human design. It's like smart technology. And we'll pull together the pieces of your unique chart. So if you want to go down the rabbit hole and you love to read and like have this reference of yourself.

0:37:27

Anna

And I also do readings. My readings are a little bit more specific, focused on like what kind of business are you meant to build, how to stand out and things like that. But I there I love sharing with people anything about their human design that helps you get to know yourself at a deeper level.

0:37:47

Carly

That's amazing. And just a disclaimer when if you fill out, you know, if you work with Anna or you just use her free resource to get a reading or you're starting to go down that Google rabbit hole. It is so imperative that you have the time of your birth, the plate, like all those things right to the minute. Because I even like when I was first going down, you know, I put in the wrong like two minutes off of or something and it was like a totally different chart. So make sure that. And there's always that funny joke of like, what is it like when your son texts the mom, like hey mom, like what time was I born? And it's like you should run in the opposite direction because we're all going down this woo woo path. But it's really important, it's really fun to learn about.

0:38:29

Carly

And then yes, again, if you're looking for a bit more of that business strategy, definitely reach out to Anna. And I just want to thank you so much for being on the show and I always learn so much when I talk to you about human design. I think it's such an important and fun tool that everyone can play with.

0:38:50

Anna

And I feel like I learned so much from you. I think this is the beauty of human design, of just like knowing the differences. Because I we, I feel like connected really quickly and I was like, she's so brilliant. She's got all of this wisdom and like so projector. You were on my podcast a couple of weeks ago. It was your episode and we, you talked about this. In between I was like, this is such good advice for anyone, business owners, all of the things and it resonated so deeply with me. So I appreciate getting to know you more and deepening our friendship and being on the show.

0:39:24

Carly

Of course. I look forward to many more chats about human design in life and to all of our listeners. Thank you again for tuning in. To another episode of Coffee with Carly. And as always, like a good cup of coffee, stay bold, stay balanced, and I will see you next week.