There’s a word I’ve been coming back to lately: Singularity.

Not in the sci-fi sense although the relationship to AI is not lost on me. In this AI driven world, I feel called to be more human while also adopting certain characteristics of AI such as expansive thinking, dot connecting, adaptability, and the ability to hold complexity.

In this sense, Singularity is the place where your interests, strengths, curiosities, and lived experiences converge. It’s an integration of life and work and the realization that parts of what you do, even when they don’t look like they belong together, can actually work in concert.

I know. I know. It runs counter to institutionalized notions of work/life balance. But honestly? That notion never worked for me.  It just applied this unnatural pressure to keep things separate instead of allowing them to inform and energize one another.

The old rules say pick one lane, one title, one career ladder, or one “story” that makes sense on paper. But many of us don’t feel singular in that way. It also tends to prevent the big leaps forward in our personal and professional growth and doesn't seem to respect or value time.

We’re leaders and creatives, strategists and coaches, builders and seekers, professionals and humans with passions that drive us and sustain us.
In my recent “I Am” reflection posted on LI, I wrote about naming ourselves before the world names us. This notion of Singularity feels like the next layer of that permission. Thanks Khadijah New, AWI-CH for inspiring a fuller expression of this thought.

What if instead of forcing yourself into a single role, you allowed yourself to shape a career ecosystem?

One where:
-Your job is part of the system, not the whole identity
-Your passions aren’t “side hobbies,” but sources of energy and insight. (There’s lots of research here on how this boosts your resilience and longevity. Check out my friend Nick Propper of IMPACT Human Performance’s work in this area.)
-Your curiosity leads you somewhere new and sometimes even into new income streams
-Your career evolves as you evolve

I think about that movie, "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once" and how it was so chaotic for the main character, played by Evelyn Quan Wang, until she realized she could integrate her many gifts and use them collectively.

By now we all realize, the future of work isn’t one job for 40 years. It’s people designing lives that actually fit who they are now.

If you’ve ever felt “too much,” “too many interests,” or “hard to categorize” , you’re not unfocused, you could be Singular, like me.