Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been a dabbler. I can’t keep track of all the things I’ve been interested in over the years: art, music, taekwondo, makeup, anime, writing, Spanish, genetics, molecular biology, computer programming and more.
In college it was challenging for me to pick a career path because I had so many interests. For a while I triple majored in business, biology, and Spanish. At one point I considered getting a minor in computer science. No one really knew what to do with me.
I didn’t know what to do with myself either, so I turned to other people for advice. Many people told me to narrow my focus. My parents advised me to pursue a career in biology for greater job and financial security.
It never occurred to me that having a lot of interests could be an asset. I always thought there was something wrong with me for having too many interests. As a society, we praise people for becoming specialists and experts in their field.
As for the people who have lots of interests and change jobs frequently? Society often labels us as flighty, indecisive, flaky, or having problems with commitment. But what if our ability to learn and our desire to try lots of different things were actually an asset?
I was lamenting my problem of having too many interests on one of my facebook groups when someone shared this TEDx talk by Emilie Wapnick with me. In her talk, Wapnick explains why some of us can’t seem to find our “one true calling” and defines for us a new term to grab onto: multipotentialite.
Wapnick based the term multipotentialite off of the word multipotentiality, a term which describes people who show aptitudes across multiple disciplines. She also suggested multipod as an abbreviation for multipotentialite.
On her website, Wapnick describes some of the challenges multipods face. Many multipods struggle to find work that balances variety with stability, to balance a passion for exploration with the need to make progress, and to feel understood by others which can lead to insecurity, lack of confidence, and poor mental health.
Oof. You’re calling me out, Wapnick. Since I made the decision to quit residency last September, I squirm whenever someone asks me, “So what do you do?”
I identify with all of those struggles she lists. How do I get to continue to dabble but still get paid to be a professional dabbler? How do I enjoy learning new things but still make progress on the projects I’ve already started?
Luckily, her community Puttylike has loads of resources that dive into these questions. I definitely have some reading to do.
Wapnick goes on to list the unique strengths multipods have. She writes that when multipods are supported, they can turn on the following superpowers: “idea synthesis, rapid learning, adaptability, big picture thinking, and relating to and translating between different types of people, languages, and modes of thought.”
Hot damn! For those of you who identify with this, bask with me for a minute. Doesn’t it feel great to have a title that fits us?
I know some people think labels are overrated (which is a complicated discussion for a later time), but isn’t it nice to be validated after thinking your many interests made you a weirdo? Doesn’t it feel nice to be seen and even celebrated?
Now the question is, what would you like to do with this knowledge? The beauty is, I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer to this. There is only your answer.
It may be helpful to spend some time thinking about what your unique strengths and areas of interest are. You could also list your top priorities in your life right now. And then let yourself play with possibilities.
I don’t know about you, but in the past (and sometimes even now), I’ve been afraid to dream big. As a multipod, I find myself going down some pretty wild paths and my curiosity can have me diving down rabbit holes.
But how much of that fear stems from being afraid that I’m not living my life the way I “should” or am “supposed to”? What would happen if I let myself freely explore those wild paths and dive down those exciting rabbit holes?
In a world with so many uncertainties, I think it’s worth exploring. As far as we know, this is our one and only opportunity to live our life. I’m going to try to live that life in the pursuit of more joy, love, and kindness.
Who’s with me?
