What Sparks You In Work And Life?

The 4th of July weekend is about to be upon us, and so what better topic for the blog today then to discuss what sparks you in work and in life!

If you’ve read my story, you know that not so long ago, I was on the hamster wheel of work and life, with no clear way off but also no real intention of getting off the wheel. Then, a lot of things collided for me all at once. I took a pay cut for a job that ended up providing me with more time outside of work than I’d ever had in my life, I discovered Slow financial independence (FI), and I discovered my Sparketype, to name a few.

What is a Sparketype, you might be asking? Well, I’m here today to tell you all about it!

The bigger switch that often needs to be flipped is one of self-discovery.

Jonathan Fields, from his book SPARKED: Discover Your Unique Imprint for Work that Makes You Come Alive

Before I learned my Sparketype Profile, I was feeling pretty stuck when it came to work. Thanks to my paycut editor job and all of the newfound time that afforded me, I realized I had passions outside of work that I wanted to pursue. I no longer wanted to climb the work ladder. I also discovered Slow FI, and I was drawn to all the lifestyle changes that could bring. But I still didn’t know quite how I wanted my work life to look.

That all changed when I took the Sparketype assessment. It gave me a much clearer picture of my path forward, and the path has been solidified even further now that I’ve read the accompanying book (BONUS: because of my organized email inbox, I was notified by the author on a random Tuesday via email that the book was currently selling for $2.99 for the Kindle edition).

What is a Sparketype?

Ok, I’ve left you in enough suspense. There are actually a total of 10 Sparketypes. You can read about each of them in more in-depth detail in the book, but here is a snapshot of all 10 and their slogans:

1. The Maven: “I live to learn”
2. The Maker: “I make ideas manifest”
3. The Scientist: “I figure things out”
4. The Essentialist: “I create order from chaos”
5. The Performer: “I turn moments into magic”
6. The Sage: “I awaken insight”
7. The Warrior: “I gather and lead people”
8. The Advisor: “I guide to grow”
9. The Advocate: “I’m your champion!”
10. The Nurturer: “I’ve got you”

As the book tells us, although we all have different attributes of each, every human has a unique Sparketype Profile that is made up of 3 components:

1. Your Primary Sparketype: work that makes you feel alive, that energizes and excites you, and that makes you feel like you’re living your truest life
2. Your Shadow Sparketype: work that is a close second but is not your strongest impulse; work that often amplifies your Primary Sparketype
3. Your Anti-Sparketype: work that takes the most out of you and leaves you empty

My Primary Sparketype: The Nurturer

At first, I was really surprised to see that this was my Primary Sparketype, the strongest impulse that makes me come alive in work and in life, but the more I read about this Sparketype, the more it made sense!

I have always been the person, family member, friend that people turn to for advice and comfort. I’m the person who brings everyone together. I have always thought it was just a natural thing, that I was a good listener, that I was approachable (the #1 comment on my student evaluations when I was teaching), but learning that the Nurturer is my Primary Sparketype made me realize that maybe this wasn’t just by chance. Maybe I actually feel most alive when I am living the Nurturer slogan: I’ve got you.

I read in the book that Nurturers tend to find outlets and ways of creating nurturing opportunities outside the narrow confines of a job description, which really hit home for me. I realized that I have always strived to take on something “extra” in my W2 job, whether it be forming a support group for new hires or creating a podcast on different work-life topics (eg, burnout, setting boundaries, etc). I didn’t even realize it at the time, but these specific activities I chose to lead were absolutely to feed my Nurturer impulse.

I discovered that Nurturers often find a powerful outlet in teaching. The entire reason I started on my journey to get my PhD in Neuroscience was so that I could teach others about the brain. Even after I left teaching in academia to get off of the hamster wheel, I still found ways in my W2 job and beyond to fulfill my passion for teaching. I have volunteered at my sister-in-law’s school to teach kids about the brain. At a previous job, I took on peer teaching, helping my teammates become more efficient, improve their quality, or learn the basics of the job in the case of new hires.

I learned that Nurturers care most about creating a ripple of care and elevation. I find I do this by trying to lead by example. I’ve learned the hard way that it never works to try to push people to change or think differently. What has made the most difference for me in my life is simply to share with others my beliefs and values, and lead by example. This is how I’ve been able to see change take place in the people around me.

The following quote was the one that hit home the most, especially as I have continued to think about what living out my Nurturer Sparketype might look like for me:

What most Nurturers eventually discover, however, is their most valued offering isn’t their world or actions, but simply their presence, devotion, and attention. Nurturers see you, hold you up, and let you know you’re not alone.

Jonathan Fields, from his book SPARKED: Discover Your Unique Imprint for Work that Makes You Come Alive

My Shadow Sparketype: The Maven

Unlike the Nurturer, when I learned that my Shadow Sparketype was the Maven, I wasn’t surprised at all. I feel like the Maven’s slogan, I live to learn, had been the slogan of my whole life thus far.

I have always loved to learn. As I wrote in my story, I was that girl who hated missing school, who cried when she missed getting 4 years of perfect attendance because of one day spent in the hospital, and who decided to get a PhD so she could continue learning and then contribute to others’ learning by teaching.

Mavens drop more readily into that blissed-out, time-fugued state of flow than other Sparketypes…like you live in a state of childlike wonder about the world around you…every interaction is a moment of micro-discovery

Jonathan Fields, from his book SPARKED: Discover Your Unique Imprint for Work that Makes You Come Alive

I have been hearing about the concept of “flow” a lot recently, and I love it! I totally get flow, I live for flow, I am flow!

When I was a kid, I would get absolutely lost in journaling and story writing. I would look up, and more time had passed than I thought possible. When I was in graduate school, what I loved most was reading papers, distilling them down into digestible content, and then retelling the story to others. I could get lost in the research, lost in the writing of papers. This is why I love my newfound career so much. In my current work, I get to get lost in the research every day. Every day, there’s something new to discover, to learn, to dive into. My work as a medical writer is perfect for my Maven Sparketype.

What hit me most powerfully when learning about my Sparketypes was that the Maven, which I would have thought would be my strongest impulse, was actually my second strongest impulse. It made me rethink everything I knew about my work and life.

But first…

My Anti-Sparketype: The Scientist

I’m not going to lie, I laughed out loud when I saw that my Anti-Sparketype was the Scientist. I laughed out loud because I was a scientist, and yet I wasn’t surprised at all.

Scientists thrive on pursuing burning questions, big problems, and complicated puzzles. I run straight in the opposite direction from those things.

In the middle of my time at college, I decided I wanted to become a scientist so that I could teach, not so that I could answer burning questions. The part of being a scientist I enjoyed most was not solving complicated puzzles but finding out what others had discovered, making sense of it, and teaching it to others in a way they could understand.

What the book SPARKED says about our Anti-Sparketype is that “there’s just something about it that leaves you empty, as opposed to making you come alive.”

That was it for me. I could do the work of a scientist, and I was even good at it, but it didn’t make me come alive. It brought me down and depleted me. Without the other good stuff involved in getting my PhD that I actually enjoyed doing, I don’t know if I would have ever finished my degree.

Scientist Sparketypes also get tripped up by certainty. They thrive on the unknown. This is also SO the opposite of me. I crave certainty. I live for certainty. This is why I loved math so much up through high school. I was good at it, sure, but I also LOVED how straightforward it was. (For the most part), there was only one right answer and only one way to get there. Show my work? Yes, please. Tell me where I was wrong so I could learn from that and never make that mistake again? What could be better?

Other Sparketypes

I also loved reading about the other Sparketypes, because even though we have 2 that are our strongest impulses, we are still a blend of all of the Sparketypes.

For example, the Performer was the Sparketype that most resonated with me outside my Sparketype Profile.

However, it resonated only in very specific circumstances. I have found powerful creative outlets in performing. I surprisingly enjoy public speaking. I used to be really into theater (and performing in plays and musicals again is actually on my Financial Freedom List), a list of things I want to do as I gain more time freedom (notice I didn’t say when I hit financial independence; that’s the beauty of Slow FI! You don’t need to wait to start living your best life now). When I do have a creative idea that involves performing, it brings me immense joy, but the pressure of having to perform on the regular makes my skin crawl. I agree with the assessment that it’s not my strongest impulse. In fact, I think if I had to perform more regularly, it would actually be a bit depleting (I found that somewhat when I was teaching).

The Sage Sparketype also resonated with me. Sages love to share advice and knowledge with others. But reading more about this Sparketype gave me clarity about why it’s not one of my strongest impulses. Although people may come to me for advice, and I may be good at giving it, it’s not the work that makes me come most alive. I also think this may be why teaching alone wasn’t enough for me in my career (even though I felt strongly that it would be).

Major takeaways

When I first took the Sparketype assessment, which gives you a little snippet of your profile in much lesser detail than what is provided in the book, something I read stopped me in my tracks and continues to be one of my biggest takeaways: we do the work of our Shadow Sparketype in service of being able to do the work of our Primary Sparketype at the highest level.

This, along with learning that my Primary Sparketype is the Nurturer and not the Maven, changed everything for me.

What I do for work is not aligned with my strongest impulse

Your Shadow Sparketype most often reveals the work that you may well enjoy and have developed a high level of skill around; but, when you’re really being honest, it is also the work you do largely in service of doing the work of your Primary Sparketype better. Think of it as your Primary Sparketype amplifier.

Jonathan Fields, from his book SPARKED: Discover Your Unique Imprint for Work that Makes You Come Alive

I love what I do for income, but learning my Sparketype Profile made me realize that it only fuels my Maven (Shadow) impulse.

At the time I first took the assessment, I was learning that I had all of these passions and things I wanted to do outside of my work. I loved my work, but I just didn’t want to do it all the time. I wanted more time outside of work. But I felt stuck on the next step to take. Learning my Sparketype Profile and reading more about it in the book has really helped me become more clear on my path forward in work and in life.

I have since turned all of these passions and activities I want to do outside of work (including this blog) into my Financial Freedom List. Learning my Sparketype Profile made me realize that most of the things on my list were things that fueled my Nurturer impulse.

It also made me realize that I could use the work I do that fuels my Maven impulse, as a medical writer, to amplify my Nurturer impulses.

And, thus…

Part-time work

This realization, along with several others I discovered when reading the book, have helped lead me to my current goal of eventually going down to part-time work at my current job (or freelancing if my company doesn’t go for it) when I hit Flamingo FI (half your FI number).

One thing I learned from the book that helped with this realization is that Nurturers often find powerful outlets in nonprofessional, personal pursuits, and they often feel conflicted about getting paid to do the thing they’re here to do. This was really helpful for me because one of the options I was considering was eventually quitting my medical writing job and starting another business that was more aligned with my side passions and hobbies. However, whenever I thought about this plan, my whole body resisted. The thought of putting the pressure of having to make money on these side passions made me want to run the other way.

Another lesson was realizing that doing Maven work full-time is not in alignment with my true self. As one example, Mavens tend to embark on learning quests that often cause them to become isolated. As someone who craves social connection, this is a hurdle I face in my current job. I’m typically sitting at home alone with my head down doing work for most of the day.

All of these realizations, along with the fact that we do the work of our Shadow Sparketype in service of our Primary, made me realize that cutting my hours back and keeping my W2 job for income, while having more time to give to my side passions, may be the sweet spot for me. On top of that, I have found a company I enjoy working for that is not toxic (and hopefully will stay that way). Not to mention, it has great benefits. This plan of mine seems like it could be the best of both worlds, but we’ll see! Things can always change.

Closing thoughts

In the last chapter, the book offers a piece of advice that I completely agree with: be patient with yourself.

At least for me, and it sounds like for a lot of other readers of this book, the impulse to change up your life completely once you discover what makes you truly come alive in work and in life is strong.

Since I have realized I want more time to work on side passions, since making my Financial Freedom List, since discovering Slow FI, and since reading this book, I daydream constantly about going down to part-time or starting to freelance to gain time freedom.

But I have to remind myself that I have a plan. I have to remind myself of my financial goals. And I have to remind myself that I’ve taken specific actions to build my life in a way where I love it now, and I don’t need to escape from it.

And if things ever do get dire, or if my situation changes at work, I can still make the leap whenever I want. And I can always go back.

Have you taken the Sparketype Assessment? What is your Sparketype Profile? Did anything about it surprise you? I’d love to hear from you!