Are You A Multipotentialite?

I can't remember where I found the link but a few weeks ago, I stumbled into a website called Puttylike. As I read the post about not being able to chose a business niche, I felt goosebumps as a chill ran down my back and very soon, I was choked up and pretty emotional too. Before I knew it, I'd read about 10 posts and lost an hour or more but I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

There wasn't anything wrong with me! I'm not lazy and indecisive, never finishing anything, never settling for one subject, always distracted by the next new thing - it turns out I'm a multipotentialite! I have described myself as eclectic in the past as I have so many interests but being a multipotentialite makes so much sense to me and goes back further than my adult years too. Other terms commonly used for this is scanner or Renaissance mind.

Signs of Multipotentiality

Here's some of the most common signs of a multipotenitalite:

• You never knew what you wanted to do when you grew up - choosing a career path was difficult and as a child you wanted to be a doctor, fireman, cowboy, ballet dancer - all in quick succession as each new idea struck your childs' brain.
• The thought of a single occupation for the whole of your working life terrifies you - I know I struggle with this. I'm lucky in that accountancy gives some variety in the occupation but job-hopping is one common symptom that I do suffer with.
• You are a Jack-of-all-Trades (or Jill, like me!) - You rarely become an expert in one thing but you do many things pretty well and can apply knowledge from one area to another if needed. This is another definite checked box for me!
• You love to learn new things - not necessarily connected either! You probably have a whole list of interests, hobbies and skills. It's the learning that gives you a buzz and when you've got as far as you want to with a topic, you drop it and move on to the next learning experience.
• Shiny Object Syndrome is a real thing for you - so many ideas, plans, things you want to do. You get the basics done on a new project then you probably get bored and wander off to the next bright idea. I know I do this - my family just roll their eyes and sigh when I start getting hyped about a new idea.

My Multipotentialite Symptoms

This was a whole new eye-opening revelation for me. I know I drive my parents crazy by not knuckling down and sticking with one job. My Dad did 40 years with one company but the longest I've ever worked for one company is 6 years and my job changed 3 times during that period so it kept me interested. My resume is a nightmare too - if I list every job, it's over 4 pages long and that's without too many job descriptions included! 

My hobbies are also wide ranging - I used to read a book every 1-2 days and the topic didn't matter - I just had to have a book in my bag! I can knit, crochet, sew, cook, embroider, decorate cakes, write poetry, scuba dive and glaze ceramics. I've done art classes for different disciplines and I jumped at the chances to abseil and paraglide for charity. My photography suffers too as I haven't developed my own recognisable style - I just shoot whatever the heck I feel like! Of course there's the game hopping too - I'm not very good at most of them but I still enjoy the learning process. 

Recently I've been trying to fit all these interests into an online business or at least, to narrow down to a niche I can work in. I had a great conversation with Marcus Ty today and I think I may have finally managed to find an area I can focus on. Whether I can make it work remains to be seen but I feel more positive than I have for a while now.

I guess this 500 words a day challenge is another 'symptom' too - it's not like I don't have enough to do right now but here I am, starting yet another project! But it's helping already - I feel like I'm achieving something each day even if it isn't moving my business ideas forward. Having a tangible target is important when you're working at home and are alone all day. It's too easy to drift into the doldrums and get absolutely nothing done but that's a topic for another post!

Do you recognise yourself in these signs of multipotentiality? From my twitter feed, I get the feeling many of the people I follow might fit this 'label' and I'd love to know what you think.

(500 Words Challenge - Day 5 word count 828)

© Urs Steiner under Creative Commons licence

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Check out my other projects
Gifts for Gamers and Geeks

and my photography site
HVS PHotography

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