“What do you want to be?” or “What do you do?”. I am sharing this for those of you (especially for women) who constantly freak out when asked this question.
It can be frustrating not feeling particularly talented at a specific thing. For someone that has jumped from one career to the next, doing pretty well (If I do say so myself) then leaving before diving in too deep, I’ve realized my passion, more than anything else, is learning. And now, I’m guessing, I’m one sort of ‘multipotentialite’!
But even with a label, I’m not completely pacified. I’m thinking there are many ‘multipotentialites’ doing and accomplishing so much more than I am. My utmost respect for experts and specialists may have inhibited me from pushing through with so many ideas, thinking I couldn’t possibly get things done right without the necessary training/knowledge/skills…
I do realize the tidbits of insight I bring to the table, though. Perhaps I just need to find a specialist partner? Or maybe I should throw caution to the wind, embrace every unknown, and just go for it.
So if you constantly find yourself lost when asked these generic questions, maybe you can throw in some childish act and say “I am a learner … a student … a trainee … a work-in-progress. Because all of us are and that’s the beauty of it, waking up to a reality that there is so much to discover out there. Don’t get too cramped up in your own bubble. Find a way to burst out of it by doing the one thing you think you’d never do and go from there.
A lot of us here — regardless of all the essential factors: race, age, belief, etc — may say I’m done for. And that’s alright too. But I see that as the easiest gateway to boredom or being stagnant. And having no progress at all is the product of not even trying. So, expand your horizons and learn something new today. Yes, today!
Photo credit: s_nakornpanpim (pixabay.com)