Day 20: Trying New Things Opens Magical Doors

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” 

Neil Gaiman

I’ve tried so many different jobs over the years. When I was 15 years old, I started at a grocery store. I went from being a bagger to a cashier to a floral assistant to a kitchen clerk to a Starbucks barista. 

In college I worked as a caller at the college Phonathon to solicit donations from alumni. Then I worked three summers in a lab as a research assistant, became a certified Zumba instructor and independent beauty consultant for Mary Kay, dabbled in temp work, and scribed for mom in the ER before starting medical school. 

Medical school became a full-time job, and then I started residency. But since leaving residency, I’ve continued to dabble. I taught online MCAT prep classes for premed students, tried my hand at transcription, did some freelance projects on Upwork, and most recently I’ve become a ‘brand ambassador’ where I get paid $25/hr to hand out samples at grocery stores.

Some people may read this and might think, “This lady is all over the place! Pick a job already!!” I used to think I was flaky for trying so many different things. But each of these experiences has taught me something different and led to countless opportunities. 

It turns out, it doesn’t matter if you’re ‘flaky’ and you’re still able to get a job. Trying new jobs is not a problem unless it prevents you from getting more jobs when you need them. So ignore the haters and keep doing you.

You don’t have to stay in a job you don’t like, even if you’re $200K in debt like I am. There are opportunities all around you. Some of these you apply for, but the best ones you stumble into. 

You meet someone unexpectedly, start putting ideas together that you’ve never had, and voila! You’re onto something new that will open up your world in unexpected, exciting ways. I think of it as leveling up. 

With each experience you have, you gain new knowledge that you can put together in ways other people without those experiences can’t. That’s the power of being a multipotentialite. You become really great at adapting to new situations, learning something new in a fraction of the time of your peers, and creating solutions that blow people’s pants off.

But being a multipotentialite is also dangerous. You will undoubtedly disrupt the status quo. People’s reactions to you will range from confusion, to admiration, to disgust, to indignation. 

Some people will be incredibly pissed off that you’re making changes. But those people prefer staying small over the risks that come with growth. Your changes may feel like a threat to them.

While there are ways to work with these kinds of people to make your ideas more palatable, it’s best not to worry so much about what they think. Your life choices don’t have to make sense to anybody, and sometimes they don’t even have to make sense to you! It’s ok to try things, learn from them, and move on after you get what you need out of it.

Pay attention to the tiny voice inside of you that is giving you suggestions about what to do next. Don’t keep shushing it away. You have an inner knowing that will lead you to some spectacular places. Your job is simply to show up and try.