Some of you might be struggling with it for years. I mean not being able to specialize in one single field. And it’s not because you don’t have proper skills or abilities. But because you have so many interests that having only one clear career path terrifies you. And you might be thinking that something is wrong with you because other people usually stick to one profession for the whole life. But do not worry. It’s not an idiosyncrasy. It’s multipotentiality.
Personally, I came through the same thinking process. Why can’t I focus on a
Chaotic searching for a dream career
When I was young, for a question “who do you wanna be when you’ll grow up” I was answering a vet, a psychologist, a writer, an artist, or a spy, depending on a day and a movie that I watched recently. But when I went to high school and started to think about what should I do afterward, this question was not so easy anymore.
I finally decided to study interior design. I thought that creating people’s living environment was something that truly called me. Well, in a kind of way it still does if we will think about it in a wider sense. But just before the Bachelor degree exam I went on a sailing trip. And then I thought “wow, yacht design is a thing for me!”. So I switched my direction a little bit.
Before graduating I found a job in a ship design company. But the position that I get was much more technical than creative, but then I thought “oh it’s so great! All of those laws, and rules, and design guidelines, and tables, and technical drawings. That’s so cool and intriguing!”. But after time I started to get bored.
So, in the same company, I joined a more abstract team and started creating 3D visualizations. That was a come back to my creative roots, and I really liked it! But after some time a new opportunity appeared on the horizon and I move to the administration desk when I had to deal with paperwork, invoices, accounting, provisions and organizing everything in general. “To do” lists and looking after everything was great fun for me and my systematic side of personality.
But, of course, in the end it also bored me.
The breakthrough moment
I discovered the concept of multipotentiality more or less at the same time I found the first articles about digital nomads on the Internet. It was the beginning of 2017 when my thoughts get more clear about what I wanted to do in my life. And it was not one single thing.
I realized that I didn’t want to lead only one life during the whole lifetime. And that there were so many things to try in this world that I could not simply give up. I wanted to try living as a freelancer and entrepreneur. Traveler and worker. I wanted to design ships, and work for Disney. Be a mermaid and a 4Oceans diver to clean the ocean. Learn to play the piano and become a polyglot. I dreamed about being a volunteer in a kangaroo orphanage in Australia and manage a cozy hotel in Greece.
And I wanted it all. I wanted to lead a multiple life. At first, I thought it was impossible because to do something right, you need to become a specialist and devote a huge amount of time to your passion.
But now I changed my way of thinking. And today I say “can’t I at least try?” To gain new experiences and taste different ways of life? This is where the multipotentiality comes with help.
People shaped by multipotentiality
My understanding of the world collapsed (in a good way) when I randomly watched a TED talk of Emilie Wapnick. She was talking about the exact problems that I had with my career choices and totally confirmed my way of thinking about the multiple lives. In her mouth everything suddenly became so simple and obvious.
Check out Emilie’s book: How to be everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don’t Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up
Thanks to her, I found out that we shouldn’t treat our problems with deciding about our life’s paths as something unnatural or weird. We should treat them more like superpowers. Because when you’re a multipotentialite person, you can do much more than you think.
What exactly multipotentiality is?
In the easiest words, multipotentiality is the will to explore very different fields of knowledge instead of focusing on one purpose. Multipotentialite persons have many interests which do not always connect with each other (sometimes only at the beginning).
It is not only about having different hobbies because when the multipotentialite person finds a new interest, is able to give up on everything else just to focus on this one thing. But after a while, a multipotentialite lose the interest just to look for another one.
It might seem that multipotentiality leads only to an
1. Learning fast
When a multipotentialite find a new source of interest he put all his efforts to learn as much as he can about the issue. He has also a lot of will and energy if it comes to learning new things and starting something from the very beginning. Life changes are not so scary for this kind of person. Contrary, they bring excitement and curiosity which are the first step of innovation.
2. Ideas generating
A calling “thousands of ideas per minute” perfectly mirrors multipotentialites. They get used to generating ideas because they find new interests for themselves all the time. Their open minds have great synthesis abilities, so they are able to connect facts that did not have too much in common at first glance. This skill makes multipotentialites perfect people finding the best solutions for many problems.
3. Adaptability
Because of starting totally new projects and careers a few times in a lifetime, multipotentialites possess an
Why you should be happy because of your multipotentiality powers?
Instead of worrying that you cannot decide which career path to choose, you should look at it wider. As a multipotentialite, you are a perfect person to bring success to interdisciplinary teams. Thanks to your synthesis skills, you will be able to combine specialists’ individual achievements and change them into innovative ideas.
When you will accept your multipotentiality and simply let your interests bring you to ever newer places, you might finally find your peace and happiness.
With this knowledge, I began my life as a digital nomad. I still do only small steps in this field, and sometimes I feel lost. But finally, I’ve got the feeling that I can do whatever I want, no matter how crazy it might be. And I’m extremely happy with that.
And what about your? Is multipotentiality your superpower too?
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Dominika is a founder of Sunday In Wonderland and she recently switched her life to be local independent. She aims to travel the world and admire all of its wonders. She is much focused on sustainable life, self-development and making this world a better place.
