Don’t Limit Yourself: How to Embrace your Multiple Passions and Thrive
Sometimes it feels like society has all these rules and stereotypes at the ready, which are not necessarily best for us to believe or utilize.
In society, there’s a spoken and sometimes unspoken rule that says, “commit and stick it out, no matter what.” It works great if you’re a single-passion kind of person, but it doesn’t work for us, multi-passionate people. The only way around it is to find a way to weave multiple passions into what we do and find space for the rest.
It’s time to have a more nuanced conversation about what it means to be a multi-passionate creative in today’s world, including the positives and negatives, challenges and solutions.
A population with a mix of specialists and generalists makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. Some people in society find it advantageous to be very inquisitive, versatile, and “all-purpose”. The group becomes more forward-thinking and less susceptible as a result. Groundbreaking discoveries and breakthroughs have resulted from lateral thinking and the fusing of concepts from several fields.
Phrases like “Jack of All Trades, Master of None” are one of those phrases which make being multi-passionate seem like it’s wrong. I’ll tell you that it is a limiting belief and that just because it’s the popular opinion, it is not what is true.
But this perception is evolving. Today, there are many more opportunities to make a living than there were twenty years ago, and there is an increasing desire for variety in many vocations. More adaptability and flexibility in how we approach our employment is now possible thanks to the gig economy, remote work options, and various internet company models.
Tim Ferriss, a famous author, podcaster, and entrepreneur, emphasized Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades and it is still true today. Particularly in professions like commerce and the arts, grades and degrees are no longer regarded as being universally significant. Mentality, social skills, and demonstrated track record or portfolio are more highly regarded.
This is the perfect moment to succeed if you’re a restless, multi-passionate creative. At least conceptually. Practice still makes it difficult. We’ll have to plan our work instead of trying to fit into pre-existing positions. And that takes self-reflection, determination, and focus.
Developing momentum and finding yourself might also take some time. There are still times in my life when I feel like a failure who is progressing slowly and hasn’t done anything worthwhile. But all those years of experimenting—picking up a skill here and there, starting businesses and shutting them down, doing freelance work and consulting—have begun to mount up.
They still appear to be quite different things when put on a résumé but are completely logical in this brand-new world of online lifestyle enterprises.
With being multi-passionate, our personality type is not the issue; it’s how we base our professional lives on it. We won’t fit into most conventional occupations or professions without feeling bored, miserable, and at a constant disadvantage.
Since most one-person enterprises don’t want to hire people or can’t afford to, the majority of individuals who manage creative businesses, blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels nowadays have to study the fundamentals of these industries and even become experts in them, which gives multi-creatives a natural advantage as entrepreneurs.
Again, in theory, since even though we technically have unlimited chances, the enemy is within. We are our own worst saboteurs and critics. Prejudice, the job market, or “being misunderstood” are not our major issues. It involves knowing who we are and putting all of our skills to good, constructive use.
How to Embrace Multi-Passions with Confidence
I think that it is becoming more accepted and normalized. We are seeing more and more influencers, business owners, and just regular everyday people being openly multi-passionate.
It’s important to embrace your passions, and I think to fully succeed in creating a multi-passionate life or business, you need to accept yourself for who you are.
So, the question then is, how can you start accepting and embracing your multi-passionate life?
Self-Love & Compassion
Practicing self-love and self-compassion is your most important job. I believe it is for us all, especially when you are a little different from what’s considered the norm.
Mindset is Everything
According to psychologist Carol Dweck, our mindset towards our abilities largely shapes our success. People who have a “fixed mindset” think their intelligence and abilities are unchangeable. If they’re not naturally good at something, there’s no point in trying. On the other hand, people with a “growth mindset” believe they can improve with effort and practice.
This belief allows them to embrace challenges and persevere through setbacks. And it turns out that this growth mindset is essential for people who want to pursue multiple passions. If you’re someone who loves learning new things and exploring different areas, don’t be afraid to pursue all of your interests. With a growth mindset, you can achieve anything you want.
Being Self-Taught
When you’re self-taught, you have the freedom to explore your interests at your own pace. You can choose which topics to focus on and how much time to dedicate to each one. As a result, you can develop a well-rounded skillset and a deep knowledge base. Additionally, self-teaching can help you connect with other like-minded individuals. There are numerous online resources and forums where the multi-passionate can come together and share tips, advice, and support.
Projects, Not Jobs or Career
I’ve always made the error of believing that anything I undertake must be a lifetime commitment. I now make an effort to commit to shorter projects, sprints, and experimentation.
There’s a chance I could become bored after a while and want to work on something else, so I might as well publish a few pieces to attract readers and feedback rather than leave half-written articles on my computer.
Considering starting a new endeavor is like sowing a tree seed. It can require some initial work, but it will develop with or without your assistance. You don’t have to feel bad for not giving the tree constant care. The tree can be actively grown at times by watering, fertilizing, trimming, and weeding. There are other times when you should just let things develop naturally. But until you chop the tree down, it will continue to grow.
Stop Overthinking and Start.
Finding a place to start can be challenging. While thinking about the exact plan, you slowly encourage yourself not to do it. Messy action is better than no action; figure it out as you go!
Stop thinking and start.
Be Your Own Boss.
I came to the realization that the more I persisted in working for others, the more trapped I would become in a never-ending loop of beginning again, gaining momentum, disappointing everyone, including myself, resigning, and then starting over somewhere else.
After couple months, I get bored and burned out from desperately attempting to shoehorn my many abilities and hobbies into unsuitable occupations. I wouldn’t say I like the idea of working for years and years on end doing the same job at the same desk with the same coworkers. That was what my early years in the job market looked like.
I had the freedom to work whenever, whenever, on whatever, and whatever I pleased as a self-employed, freelancer, or business owner. I could work on numerous things at once. I could have both active and passive revenue streams. I could make use of every skill I had learned while simultaneously developing new ones.
Being a freelance writer gave me the freedom to research any subject that caught my attention at the moment without needing to be an expert in it or choose a certain specialty. I understood that there were no restrictions on who might write for publication. You may pitch an idea for an article to editors if you can write well. I had the impression of a metaphorical honeybee going from flower to flower.
“A bee dashes from flower to flower, collecting nectar. Nobody would accuse a bee of being scattered or unfocused or getting bored too easily. A honeybee isn’t passionate about any particular flower. They’re passionate about the process of collecting nectar. “Switching flowers is part of the plan” — Sher writes.
There are many freelance opportunities, more today than ever. However, the majority of them require studying sales, audience development, and marketing. I could never have supported myself by simply practicing my craft while alone in my room. Additionally, I had to build websites to display my artwork, develop material related to it to promote my presence, write sales text to encourage people to purchase my artwork, and so on.
The more endeavors I’ve taken on, projects I’ve completed, and talents I’ve developed, the simpler it is for me to start new ones.
Figure Out Your “Why”.
Suppose you figure out the "why" that drives you daily. Then everything else will fall into place. I don’t just mean why you want to do an individual passion, but I mean all of it. Why is starting a business that is all-encompassing important to you? Why does it matter to you that you can participate in all the hobbies you enjoy? What makes you continuously motivated to do the things you do? I can almost guarantee that there is an overlap between them all.
Focus on Your Strengths.
If you’re not confident, you might have trouble articulating your strengths, and that’s okay. But you have many. You can write down everything you can think of, from baking scones to organizing your kids’ lives. You have many qualities, strengths, and things you’re good at. Claiming what you’re good at is super powerful.
We have no problem saying all the things we’re bad at, but we tend to get amnesia when it comes to things we’re good at. Make it your business to remember what you’re good at and write it down. Reading your list regularly will help you remember and build more confidence.
Be Excited.
Do you know that feeling when you start something new or finally go all in on a project? Soak up those feelings and get excited. The best part about passion is being and feeling passionate, so allow yourself to experience those feelings fully! Please talk about your desires, create an Instagram, write, or do whatever it is that sparks joy.
Let Your Creativity Flow.
Have fun with passion projects without the strings attached. Letting things *be* can be compelling, and really, not every single idea you have will turn into something, and that’s okay! Just let your creative juices go and see what happens.
There are no quick fixes, you know, but these are some ways you can practice embracing the wonderful, complex person you are. It will take effort on your part, but it’s the best work you’ll ever do.
Even if you aren’t currently using them or are unsure of what to do with them, all of the talents, interests, and life experiences you have gathered are priceless assets. Being enthusiastic about several things, being pushed in many different directions, being confused, and feeling upset might feel like a curse.
We should keep in mind that not everything may lead to a career. This is my burden: I’ve always wanted to have a creative job. But you might not need or want to support yourself by following your interests. This successfully breaks the curse.
Success can look a lot of different ways. Right now, it just means let me paint, let me write, let me be myself and do my thing. For a creative, getting to create is the real reward. And as multi-passionate, multi-talented creatives, we have more ways to do that than anyone else.
We have already won.
Jump from flower to flower.
You are not alone! :)
