Walk: Malibu Lagoon, 34.0343727,-118.6841695
Thought: Multi-Passionate Creation
I drove along the PCH hoping that the beach would bring me serenity because the torture was upon me again: what the hell do I do with my life.
The term “Multi-Passionate Creator” is a term that I see buzzing everywhere. The opposite of Essentialism (a principle guiding you into honing in on one activity and improving it through practice), Multi-Passionate encouragement tells millennials, “Yes!” Embrace and explore all of your different interests!
To which I ask, all of my interests? Because let me tell you, it’s dangerous to provoke someone with ADHD. You will get burned by the overwhelming all.
The Multi-Passionate Conundrum
I am smart, hardworking, and confident. Moreover, I know that I will excel at whatever I put my mind to because 1) my ego is stubborn, and 2) everyone says so.
The issue preventing this millennial from ease is that I don’t know what I want.
An image to illustrate what I mean:
My neighbor was teaching me to play chess, a game of wit that I have avoided for decades. To my thousand questions, (How did you learn? Do you play defensively or offensively? Which piece is the most powerful?) he suddenly stood up, walked away from the counter, and answered, “You have to have a game plan.” He repeated it with a Eureka! smile, struck by the simple genius of the phrase as I was. “You have to have a game plan.”
This stupidly obvious truth has plagued my memory ever since.
Even if I knew all of the answers, I couldn’t win a game of chess without a strategy.
Talents are no good without a fitting use.
The finest, most well-constructed key, is trash without its lock.
My Advice? Don’t be Multi-Passionate, if you can help it.
While the marketers, coaches, and influencers may have good intentions, their advice is driving me crazy.
I am simply too multi-passionate, and, left to my worst devices, will spread myself thin into a thousand projects where I cannot genuinely fail, overcome obstacles, and create something truly great through any of them. There’s that other phrase: “Jack of all trades, master of none.”
If I keep the masterfulness inside of my head and dedicate myself to nothing, then it’s only up to me whether I am a master or not, and I remain safe. I remain small. The moment that I decide and trust fall into my game plan, somewhere soon I’ll have to face doubt in the unattractive arena of reality. I’ll have to stumble, humbled, into the practice swamp.
The thing is, I’m ready for it. I want to do it. I just don’t know what it is with enough conviction to choose it over the other "it”s.
So please, dear reader, share your experience, strength, and hope if you have it. Heck, share your struggles, too. Is the answer to throw away my computer and live free from the world wide web? Is it to abandon my sugar cravings for the much grittier salt lick of discipline? Is there a pill or an app for that?