Who among us was not asked in childhood: “What do you want to become?” This question caused, and for many even in adulthood it causes concern. Because our duty to ourselves is to find the only right answer. Or can there be more than one answer? Emily Vapnik’s opinion on multipotentials.
I was also asked what I want to be. I am one of those who never knew the answer to this question. And it’s not that I had no interests – on the contrary, there were too many of them. In high school, I liked English, and math, and art, I made websites, played guitar in a punk band Frustrated Telephone Operator (“Frustrated Telephone Operator”). Maybe you’ve heard of us.
This continued after school. At some point, I began to notice: at first I begin to be interested in something, I go into this business with my head, everything works out fine for me … and so on until a turning point, when it suddenly bothers me. I continue to persevere, because I have already invested so much effort, energy, and sometimes money in this business. But in the end, boredom, the feeling that there is no more challenge here, outweighs. And I’m dropping this.
This recurring scenario bothered me a lot for two reasons. Firstly, I did not understand how these hobbies could develop into a career. It seemed to me that I had to choose one thing, discard everything else and put up with boredom. The second reason was more personal. It seemed to me that this was not normal, something was wrong with me, since I could not stop at one thing. I was worried: maybe I’m afraid of responsibility? scatter? Or is it such self-sabotage because I’m afraid of success?
The idea of a narrowly focused life is exalted in culture
If you recognize yourself in this story and you know such feelings, ask yourself what I should have asked myself. Why did you decide that it is bad or abnormal to do different things all the time? I will answer: this idea comes from culture.
We, five-year-olds, are asked: “Who do you want to be?” And no one really cares what we say. This is just a harmless question, it is asked to get a funny answer from the child like “I want to be an astronaut”, “I want to be a ballerina”, “I want to be a pirate”. As we grow, this question is asked time and time again. He is no longer harmless, he does not let us sleep at night. Why?
The question has only one answer. We cannot name 20 professions that we dream about. Otherwise, adults, grinning, will explain to us: “This is very nice, but you cannot become both a violinist and a psychologist at the same time. You have to choose one.”
Do you know Dr. Bob Childs, violin maker and psychotherapist? Or Amy Ng, she was a magazine editor and then became an illustrator, entrepreneur, teacher and creative director. But most children have never heard of such people. They hear one thing – they have to choose. Moreover. The idea of a narrowly focused life is exalted in culture. This is the idea of a destiny, a real calling, the idea that everyone has a life’s work for which we were born, and our task is to find it and devote our whole life to it.
In the Renaissance, the ideal was a comprehensively educated person.
But what if you are wired differently? What if you are interested in many things and want to do both? Then there is no place for you in this general construction. And you will be alone. You will feel like there is something wrong with you. No, it’s the same with you. You are just multipotential.
This word is not easy to pronounce. You can use other definitions, such as “comprehensively developed personality”, “Renaissance man”. Indeed, in the Renaissance, the ideal was a comprehensively educated person. These people have many interests and hobbies. Writer, author of I Refuse to Choose! and “Dreaming Isn’t Harmful” by Barbara Sher calls us scanners. Use any term or come up with your own. This is quite consistent with our company: we cannot stop at a single self-name.
The easiest way is to view your multipotentiality as some kind of limitation or misfortune that needs to be overcome. But I realized that multipotentiality has its strengths. Here are three gifts such people possess.
Synthesis of ideas
This is the birth of the new at the junction of two or more areas of knowledge. Knowledge in the field of cartography, data visualization, mathematics, design and a love of travel allowed Sha Hwang and Rachel Binks to come up with the Meshu project. This company creates jewelry that depicts the customer’s travel route, schematically reflected in the form of check-ins on a geographic map.
Sha and Rachel came up with this unique idea not in spite of, but because of their amazingly diverse skills and experiences. Innovation always occurs at the interface. This is where new ideas come from. And for a multipotential person, with his background, it is easiest to come to this.
Speed of learning
When we have an interest, we try our best. We study everything that has to do with it. We know how to be beginners, because we have already started something so many times, which means we are less afraid to try new things and leave our comfort zone. Moreover, many skills are quite applicable in different areas, so the previous experience can be used in a new area – we never start from scratch.
Nora Dunn is a professional traveler and writer. As a girl she was a concert pianist and through this she developed a muscle memory. Now she is typing at great speed.
Before becoming a writer, she was a financial planner. She has mastered the techniques of sales, and now this knowledge helps her effectively present her texts to editors. It is not at all a waste of time to do something exciting, even if you later quit it. The knowledge gained can be unexpectedly useful in another area.
Adaptability
Abe Kahudo works as a video director, a web designer, sometimes as a Kickstarter consultant, sometimes as a teacher, and sometimes as James Bond. He is appreciated for his good work. He is even more valuable because he can change roles depending on the client’s requests. Fast Company magazine named adaptability as the most important skill to develop in order to succeed in the XNUMXst century. The world of the economy is changing so rapidly and unpredictably that those people and companies that are able to quickly adapt to meet the needs of the market will succeed.
So, the synthesis of ideas, fast learning and adaptability are the three qualities inherent in multipotentials. But they may lose them, others will insist on narrowing the focus. As a society, we certainly have no interest in changing them. We face a lot of interdisciplinary problems, and to cope with them, we need creative, out-of-the-box thinking people.
Often the best teams are a combination of specialists and multi-potential people
But let’s say you are a narrow specialist and from birth wanted to become a pediatric neurosurgeon. Don’t worry – you’re fine too.
Often the best teams are a combination of specialists and multi-potential people. The specialist deeply explores and embodies ideas, and the multipotential brings a broad view of things to the project. This is a great partnership. We must build a life and a career in accordance with our inner structure. Sadly, multipotentials are simply encouraged to look up to their fellow specialists.
I would like you to remember one thought: respect your inner workings, whatever it may be. If you are an expert, be one. Then you will reach heights in work. And to multipotentials I will say: cherish your passions. Dive down those rabbit holes where curiosity leads you. Following your nature is the path to a happy, authentic life. And most importantly – multipotentials, the world is waiting for you!
About the Expert: Emily Wapnick is a coach and career consultant.