Follow your heart

"Follow your heart" sounds like fridge magnet wisdom - the kind dismissed as fluffy nonsense. I won't claim it's foolproof. We're messy cocktails of biases, emotional residue, and societal noise. The heart doesn't speak in perfect logic; it whispers through layers of chaos. Sometimes what we hear isn't authentic but echoes of external validation or stories we've absorbed.

But if you learn to truly tune in - not to anxious chatter but to quiet, consistent pulses beneath - your heart can be incredibly wise. It's the one that goes through the muck with you, collecting raw data from every feeling, friction, fight, and flicker of joy. You don't have to explain anything to your heart. It knows.

I was a straight-A student, chasing perfect grades like armor. Buried under that ambition was a soft spot for chemistry - a subject I didn't just study but felt. That tiny pull eventually led me into biochemistry and life sciences.

I chose engineering over medicine - not from love, but because it was shorter. Four years versus a marathon. I stumbled through it, but even there, my heart found sparks in engineering drawing and signal processing. Something about the structure and systems thinking lit me up.

Then I discovered Human-Computer Interaction. The moment of falling - shamelessly, deeply, fully. I couldn't walk away. The problem-solving, creativity, and dance between logic and emotion felt like home. I worked long hours but never felt drained. This wasn't work; it was flow.

Management brought a new thrill - creating kings instead of being one. Teaching gave similar highs. Coaching went further; successful people don't want teaching, they want guidance toward their own discoveries. This led me to design leadership, where I walked away from years of built legacy in entrepreneurship. My heart said it was okay. Sunk costs are sunk.

I returned to corporate while friends thought I'd lost my mind. But the messiness of people, products, and processes thrilled me. I could do this for decades and still find novelty.

In quieter corners, my heart beats for cooking (chemistry again), portraits, gardening, and understanding human systems. These aren't hobbies—they're echoes of the same love for design, creation, and connection.

It's not about the path you take but why you took it. Listening to your heart doesn't always make you rich or famous, but it does something else—it helps you sleep well and feel whole. In a world obsessed with outcomes, that wholeness is underrated.

"Follow your heart" isn't bad advice. You just have to listen deep enough to know it's truly yours.