What is multipotentialism?
Emilie Wapnick was the first to introduce the term "multipotentialism" in a Ted talk. A multipotentialist is a person with many interests and skills. Sometimes you will also see terms like multipod, multi-talented, creative generalist, scanner, polymath, slashie and Renaissance man/woman. A multipotential has many different interests and creative goals and prefers to pursue them all at once or develop them one at a time.
TIP1: Accept your individuality and behave accordingly
The world may romanticize specialists following one true passion. Reality is that we need both the specialist and the multipotential to make true progress. The multipotential is a true innovator and the specialist can so immerse himself in something that he can provide the implementation.
In case you are not yet convinced: these are several more benefits of a multipotential:
- combine different fields of interest very well and thus come up with innovative ideas. You are a real innovator.
- learn quickly and well. You are used to the beginner's feeling that comes with learning something new because you are starting something new every time.
- adapt well to what is needed in a given situation. Adaptability is considered a very important skill in our rapidly changing economy.
- Good at seeing the bigger picture of something. You enjoy brainstorming and figuring out how things can be done better.
Anticipate: Consider how long a job, project or hobby energized you? When and what caused it to diminish? This way you will discover your rhythm and be able to take preparatory steps in time, before your energy is gone due to lack of nutrition. You know what's coming, so be prepared!
TIP2: Choose a goal, your why to decide more easily
Choosing is difficult for a multipotential and this not only when it comes to professional choices. To choose is to lose, we often think. Consequence: we don't choose and stay on the spot peddling - which can be very tiring.
If you are a multipotential you are looking for enough challenge and meaning. So the trick is to see what has meaning for you. After all, this varies from person to person and can even change from period to period. A tip is to then look at is by looking for your 'why' (from: Simon Sinek's Golden Circle). Your why motivates you from within and sets you in motion. So what activities or jobs you did is less important but why they made you feel good.
So, ask yourself what value or need you want to fulfill with the activities or decisions you want to make. Keep doing this consistently to arrive at your own understanding.
TIP3: Create order out of chaos
Multipotentials overflow with new ideas. And while this is nice, it can also be frustrating. Which idea should I choose? I've chosen now but have so many other ideas? This can cause you to not find peace or focus or sometimes even not start because you know you will be triggered by other things anyway.
Therefore, bring order to your own chaos and write down all the ideas. As soon as an idea bubbles up, write it down. No matter how crazy they may be. By writing them down you may find that there are fewer ideas than you thought or that they are more similar than you imagined. You may also be able to bundle quite a few ideas together. Again, by writing them down you will come to insight and peace and it will help give you focus and a direction to an outcome.