I'm a multipotentialite... A what?

– I'm a multipotentialite.

– A what? Say again!

– Mul - ti - po - ten - tia - lite

– What the heck is that? Are you going to die?

– You wish! No, it means that somehow my brain is differently wired, so I have multiple interests and the ability to combine them.

– Don't we all?

– True! Let me try to be more specific then. Do you know how you always tell me how I change so fast and get bored so quickly? Well, it seems that it's not that I'm lazy but that my brain needs to focus on several things at a time.

– Is this something like a medical condition?

– No, it is just a different way to see the world. Maybe, I'm not going to find my passion as the books always tell you, but that doesn't mean that I have no purpose.

– Ok, that seems fair. You know, my sister is like you, I think.

– Yes, I remember she dropped out a couple of times.

– Three!

– The school system is complicated for us to follow. It is so standardized to create specialists that people like us don't even fit. Or we can fake it to see if we make it!

What is a multipotentialite?

This definition comes from psychology, and it refers to a characteristic found in gifted children. They seem to combine diverse types of intelligence at a high level each, they get bored easily with the regular curriculum, and they have a high IQ.

For these children, the decision of what to do with their lives seems to be a difficult one as they have the potential to excel in several fields.

Barbara Sheer, in her book Refuse to Choose, talks about adults with the same characteristics. As an adult, we are supposed to have that front covered, we have studied a career or even find a passion. That doesn't happen for us all, and it can be very frustrating. She called this person a Scanner as this individual will scan various fields of knowledge, driven by curiosity.

Here it comes Emilie Wapnick with a Ted Talk that has made people cry over the years: Why some of us don't have one true calling?

When I watched it the first time, what I felt was a huge relief. I thought that's me! I'm not crazy; there are people out there like myself. Let me share some context with you. I wanted to study genetics, biology, literature, engineering, psychology, and some more—all of them with the same desire and passion. I turned 17, and I realized I get to study one of them. What?

Yes, just one and for five years. That was a nightmare for me. I ended up deciding the most lucrative one at the time: Computer Engineering. Two months after getting my diploma, I enrolled to study philosophy. I specialized in Plato. While working on my thesis, I wrote a fiction book and worked my ass off as an Engineer. I have never thought about doing a master's in computer science, as for me, those years were enough. Work-wise, that was not the most clever decision I have made. However, I was able to survive as Computer Engineer without much coding! I always got into the oddest of all engineering jobs! I will tell you one: translate a bank law about technology in Venezuela to actionable items, meaning using the dictionary and my philosophy training a lot!

Finally, the definition: a multipotentialite, according to Wapnick, is a person who has many different interests and creative pursuits in life. Also, she adds that multipotentialites have no "one true calling" the way specialists do. Being a multipotentialite is our destiny. We have many paths, and we pursue all of them, either sequentially or simultaneously (or both).

What would be some benefits of knowing or recognizing yourself as a multipotentialite?

• Know yourself better and understand how you work
• Prevent frustration that could lead to anxiety and depression
• Find your tribe
• Find people that don't look at you as if you were an alien. You are marvelous, incredible, talented too.
• Search tools to help you manage the challenges of being a multipotentialite (more to come about those in a future post)
• Make more confident decisions based on the knowledge of who you are.

If you want to know more about multipotentialism, please go to my Youtube channel or visit Emilie Wapnick's site.