Recently updated on: October 31, 2023
Have you ever thought about what you want to do? What are the habits and interests you want to pursue?
Do you have only one dominant field that you want to master? Or do you want to do many things all at once - even those that don't seem related?
If you pick doing many things at once and think it's weird, don't be alarmed, there is nothing wrong with you. You might be a multipotentialite.
What is a Multipotentialite?
In 2015, Emilie Wapnick discussed why some of us don't have one true calling in her TED Talk. She opened her speech with, "raise your hand if you've ever been asked the question 'What do you want to be when you grow up?'" Wherein many of the audience shot their hands up.
But most of the time, the answer to what you want to be when you grow up changes over time and seasons. It is natural, especially if you are a multipotentialite.
A multipotentialite (or a multipod) as someone with many interests and creative pursuits. It does not matter what kind of fields your interest lies in or what are their relationship and how they complement each other.
It may sound like a polymath, a renaissance man, or a generalist because they are similar. However, you don't need to be an expert in all your pursued fields, like Galileo, Michaelangelo, or even Rizal, before you may call yourself a multipotentialite.
Related: We Should Learn Outside Our Fields of Expertise
My Multipotentialite Story:
When I first watched the TED Talk about multipotentiality, it connected with me instantly because I always saw myself as a jack-of-all-trades.
If you've read my other posts, you may notice that I write blog posts about my various interests. I started writing in 2017 about running, hence, the namesake of this blog, which I combined with my quest to escape the rat race.
However, as I embraced personal growth and development, my interests expanded, and so did my blog. Soon, I discovered I wanted to talk about personal finance and investment in the stock market. Throw in my fascination with the written words through books and my occasional feature articles.
On top of these, I am also an engineer and a teacher. Currently, I am learning more about agriculture, food security, and podcasting.
It may sound like I am interested in seemingly unrelated topics. Still, I want to pursue many of them on some level.
What are the advantages of being a multipotentialite?
According to Wapnick, there are several multipotentialite superpowers. Here are some of them:
- Idea Synthesis is creating a new idea at the intersection of two or more fields. Innovation occurs in these intersections. I guess this is also similar to the "learning transfer" mastered by Elon Musk.
- Rapid Learning - because a multipotentialite became a beginner so many times, trying out new things is no longer so scary. And the way skills are transferable to other domains makes learning easier.
- Adaptability - the pace at which our lives change today is faster than ever. So being adaptable is crucial if you want to succeed. Because multipotentialites are usually versatile, we can quickly respond positively to unpredictable industry trend shifts and adjust accordingly.
- Big Picture Thinking - immersion in different fields gives multipotentialites a broader view of the world, problems, and industries, making connections of seemingly independent topics more simple.
What to do now?
If you think you are a multipotentialite, then pursue your interests!
We all have limited time in a day, different resources to tap into, and innate privileges and capacities, so there are times when you will choose one interest over the others. There will also be times when you'll lose interest in one, only to be replaced by another - and that's okay.
Remember, you don't have to be excellent in all your interests. So the next time you're called a jack-of-all-trades, take it as a compliment.
Jack-of-all-trades master of none is often better than just a master of one.
Find a Multipotentialite Community
Once you figure out that you're a multipotentialite, finding a group of like-minded people is vital because, to be honest, not many will understand you.
We live in a world that emphasizes specialization and does not celebrate people of many interests or are generalists - a community can change that.
Many groups, forums, and blogs also discuss and celebrate multipotentiality of all kinds. Find your community and share your experience because there is someone who can relate to you more often than not.
Final Thought
The modern world is a great time to be a multipotentialite. There are many fields we can explore and things to discover and learn.
We are also equipped with the Internet to find more about a topic and try to improve on it, and a community that can guide you as you go.
Embrace your multipotentiality. Be a change in pace in a world obsessed with only single interest.