What My Girl Scout Badge Taught Me About Life Design
You know what I did last week?
I took some time to revisit my family's scrapbooks, something I hadn’t made time for in a while. And boy was it fun walking down memory lane.
The hair, the clothes, the makeup.
Oh man. What a thrill.
But that isn’t the half of it.
I came across school functions, birthday parties, vacations, everything under the sun, but it was the Activities volume that truly caught my attention. (The Girl Scouts scrapbook, to be specific).
And wrapped in a small section at the bottom of the 5th page was my personal mantra, my philosophy that drives everything I do as a Life Design coach today.
It was the description of the Try-It badge.
A concept so simple, yet so obvious…
Why Adults Forget This Approach
Somewhere between childhood and corporate life, we stop being creative and curious. Whether it’s the hustle culture we become immersed in or just life happening to us, we lose that spark.
We traded in our Pogs (don’t act like you don’t remember these!), Barbies, and Tamagotchis for other shiny new objects like titles, bonuses, and awards (the biggest affirmation from our peers). It was as if we all collectively chose to live our lives under the same umbrella - and adopt an assumed linear roadmap to follow regardless of individuality or socioeconomic status.
To top it off, we were conditioned to have a plan in everything we do, or at the very least a logical narrative (otherwise, people called you crazy). We literally “lost the plot” and stopped giving ourselves permission to just try and explore life (for the fun of it!)
But when you’re a mid-career professional, it feels nearly impossible to do that when you have responsibilities and bills to pay. Not to mention, the mere thought of making a career move feels permanent and terrifying rather than exploratory and exciting.
This mindset leads us to stay in roles that don’t fit, suppressing curiosity out of fear. We wait for certainty, but often never act.
The irony? The approach that served us as children is exactly what we abandon as adults.
Try-Its as a Career Strategy
What if you gave yourself permission to approach your next career move like a Brownie badge? The goal isn't mastery, it's acquaintance. Low-stakes exploration means testing new paths without quitting your job, blowing your savings, or starting from scratch.
Today, Try-Its for grown-ups mean hands-on experience and observation before committing (just enough exposure to see if something is worth pursuing further). The power of this approach: it removes pressure from the leap and replaces it with curiosity. You don't have to know if it's right, just be willing to find out.
The Life Design Connection
The Girl Scouts' “Try-It” philosophy is literally at the heart of everything my life design coaching is built on. Exploration over commitment, curiosity over certainty, and progress over perfection. Every step or experiment is done with intention, and it’s personalized to you and YOUR journey. But what makes all of this so beautiful?
The connection that hit hardest, flipping through my scrapbook, was that this was a philosophy I had been practicing in my early years and had later become reacquainted with not too long ago. The little girl earning those badges already understood something that took years of corporate experience to unlearn and relearn.
It’s pretty cool when you think about it, and what’s more, I’m proud to help others dive into the same world and rediscover the importance of exploration.
Who would have thought the most powerful career advice I ever received came from a little handbook with a brown sash? Turns out, some lessons find you early, leave for a while, and come back right when you need them most.
