The Heart / Will / Ego Center in Human Design

Themes of the Heart:

(also called the Will or Ego centre)

+ We can endure or hold on through whatever needs to happen for the greater good of the whole

+ You are just one piece of the puzzle of humanity, and your ego is here to get you to be the very best piece you can be to serve the greatest good

+ The Heart is mostly tribal, it speaks and acts for the tribe (not the Individual or Collective)

+ We receive material support in relation to how much we value ourselves and our place in the world

From an HD perspective, you are in the minority that actually have willpower (even if you don't think so - check my highlight called Willpower

You're here to empower others
You like to be in control of yourself and resources -your style, your workplace, how your time is spent etc
People sometimes think you've promised or agreed to things when you haven't - be very clear in your communication
In the high expression, you have no problem making and keeping your promises
It's important that you do what you say you will, it strengthens your self esteem
Defined Hearts prefer to be their own boss so they can follow their own instincts around when to work and rest
Suppressing your natural ego energy can be bad for your health, don't let others stop you from your true expression
You happily use your willpower to provide for your tribe, and want to be appreciated for it
Easy to get carried away and not take a break
Can place unrealistic expectations on undefined Heart centres or try and push them beyond their capacity
Can push and take 'incorrect' action or push through things that don't feel right
Needs rest - at least 2 days off a week (actually off, needs real rest, not fake rest) to maintain integrity in your body/mind/health etc
Potential for selfishness and selflessness - find your balance between the two
Especially if the Heart is connected to your throat, you're designed to talk about yourself

Here to be wise about what's truly valuable in life
Theme of trying to prove your worth
Can get into a negative self-esteem spiral of trying to prove your worth by promising beyond your capacity, failing and then repeating the cycle
Tendency to be over-achieving to compensate for your fear of lack of will
Can amplify the willpower of a defined Heart for short periods
Tendency to undervalue your work/services
Can feel unworthy of love, money, happiness
Check your motivation - are you doing things to prove something to others? If so, take a step back and evaluate if this is really important
Remind yourself always, that you have nothing to prove, you are worthy (we all are)

You step into your wisdom about integrity, trusting others, the use of money, ego and power when you realize you don't have anything to prove

Without any gates to process the will energy, the open Heart does not initially have a solid understanding of worthiness, or how to achieve it
If not using your authority/living your design, you can swing between having an exaggerated ego or sense of self to having no self-worth at all

You're able to sense other's self-esteem and sense of worthiness
You can understand who is over-compensating and who can deliver on the promises they've made
You're clear that you're not here to compete with anyone
You're strong in your foundation of inherent worthiness and don't feel a need to prove your value
You know that you're worthy of money just by being, not through hard work

The Heart centre represents the stomach (among other organs) and many digestive issues are tied to low self worth/self esteem

Over-achieving, making promises you can't keep and pushing beyond your capacity to work are signs you're trying to prove your worth (at the expense of your well-being)

Integrity is connected to self-esteem - when you only agree to what you will actually do, and follow through, you increase self-esteem - the opposite degrades it