“I Want to Do Everything.. Is Something Wrong with Me?”

The answer is a resounding NO!

There is nothing wrong with wanting to live a million lives and wanting to try a billion things.

The internet has opened up the possibilities of lives to live for so many of us. You may have even come across the word multi-passionate, as it’s showing up more frequently on social media.

What is multi-passionate you ask? It’s frequently used to describe someone who has lots of interests, pursues work in a variety of fields, has lots of hobbies outside of work, and/or has more ideas than they know what to do with.

And while you might feel seen and understood watching your favorite content creators or public figures take on side quests and chase their passions across projects, you may feel unable to do the same in your own life.

You may be feeling confused about which path to take, what to apply for, when to start, when to pivot.

You might be feeling bored at work, misunderstood by those around you, a distaste for pursuing specialization.

Those emotions and questions make so much sense in the day and age we are in because it’s in tension with what has been the norm or expectation for years and years.

Growing up, many of us were encouraged to pick one major or one career path, one sport or one hobby. You may have even heard “a jack of all trades but a master of none” said in a derogatory way or discouraged to stop trying things.

But the world we live in today is different than twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years ago.

The world we live in is one where new job fields are emerging week on week. One where people can build and foster an audience on one theme or topic online and have a new life teaching, entertaining, creating. The world today is one where people are seeking out generalists and people are building career portfolios.

The larger social narrative and culture has not quite caught up to these things, and I suspect that’s a major contributing factor to people who are multi-passionate worrying about if something is wrong with them or they’re not good enough.

Neither are true.

It seems as though the world is still moving faster than mass understanding. Which means there are only pockets of the internet, or small community gatherings, where you might be able to find and connect with other people who want to do it all across a lifetime like you.

When there aren’t systems set up, pathways to follow, examples in your day-to-day life to model after, it can absolutely make you feel like you’re the odd one out. That you’re doing something wrong.

But that isn’t an accurate story. Even if it feels like the most true thing.

The world is really in it’s infancy for remote work, sustainable and consistent opportunities for career portfolio-ists, creating listings for generalists, developing accessible community spaces or hobby spaces, workspace hours that are flexible, etc.

Which means the feeling of being excluded, left out, like the world wasn’t build for you - that’s not in your head, that’s an accurate read on the world, of your environment.

And while that can be disappointing and sad and you may be resentful or frustrated, I do hope it helps brings a quieting down of the thoughts or worries that it is you who is “wrong” or “failing” or “the problem”.

And if it doesn’t, or you want more space to process being multi-passionate, please reach out to start sessions together at The Orchard!

Dr. S