Following your heart?

I went to a sort of writers support group for lack of a better word the other night, and it was an interesting experience.  No we weren't all there to say our first names and confess our struggles, rather we were there to talk about the things we are working on and how to get them "out there."   This blog post is not actually about that subject per se, but rather about the kind of content people describe themselves as writing.   Now before I say anything more, please understand that i am not trying to be critical, just making a note about how many people especially those in the world view what is important.  Basically it is the theme of being true to oneself.  This is interesting because it means so many things to so many different people.  We are encouraged in many circles to "follow our hearts."   The difficult part is that the Bible says that the heart is desperately wicked Jer 17:9.  Not just a little wicked, but pretty dang wicked.  So what do we do with that?  Clearly following one's heart can be a potentially problematic adventure, yet here are many authors (and people in modern society in general) seeing this as the penultimate goal in life.  What do you think?