Dear Multipotentials,
I am writing to you from the uncomfortable position of my deadlines due to an intense procrastination relapse caused by the anxiety of overloading. Writing this piece itself is an act of procrastination but I thought there would be no better time to tell you about the blessing and the curse of being a multi- potential than now that I am in the rut of it.
‘There’s plenty of things I could be good at, I can't be jumping at just anything’ — Native Son
According to Wikipedia, Multipotentiality is an educational and psychological term referring to the ability and preference of a person, particularly one of strong intellectual or artistic curiosity, to excel in two or more different fields, Emilie Wapnick coined the term “multipotentialite” in 2015.
Honestly, when I first heard of the word ‘multipotential’ I felt relieved, I thought finally, there is something that can honestly describe the rat race I have been running, there's something that can describe the silence that follows when someone asks me ‘What is your passion?’ or ‘What do you do?’’ how can I explain that I am a project manager, content writer, photographer and I still have dreams and aspirations of becoming an actress and UNwomen representative of my country.
Realizing that I am a multipotential is me realizing that I can either succeed with these decks or fall with them, has this realization helped me in any grand/significant way? I would say a resounding NO. however, that is because knowledge and practicality are two different things. So here are some tips that if you ‘PRACTICE’ will help you manage and use your multipotentiality to your advantage.
Where does it all come together? That is an important question you need to ask yourself, I realized I love providing solutions, so with every skill I learn, with every project I get involved in, the question is how can I provide solutions with this skill, especially solutions that concern women in my online and physical community. so where does it all come together for you?
Pick One; This is the difficult part. Skill takes time to develop so you have to pick a skill to give your all and after that, you can integrate the rest of your skills into that one and create your niche, your space and in this time and digital space, you can.
Stop Overloading; Just because you can be good at a lot of things, does not mean you should pick up a lot of things. learn to pace yourself, learn to say no even to yourself.
Time Management; This cannot be emphasized enough, your capability to manage your time as a multipotential has the ability to break or make you. there are different apps to help you do this such as notion or your google calendar. Creating time for each task help you avoid burnout.
Write it down; if I had a penny for each idea that has come to me that I refused to write down, I’d be rich. As a multipotential, the probability of you constantly having an influx of ideas is high, really high and any of those ideas can be your big break, just ask Sara Blakely.
Always remember, A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.
Do not be ashamed of your gifts because wielded properly you are a force to be reckoned with.
