Emilie Wapnick's Blog, page 7

Dear Puttylike: Should I Quit Pursuing My Degree?

Welcome to Dear Puttylike, where our team of writers tackles your burning multipotentialite questions! Submissions are edited for length and clarity.

Dear Puttylike,

I am a multipotentialite studying for my graduate degree, and I have learned a lot and loved it, but now I am bored and feel it would be impossible or at least very hard for me to finish. Do you think that it’s okay to let go and not get my degree?

Thanks,
Bahar

Hi Bahar,

First, it’s always okay to let go of something that isn’t serving you anymore. Multipotentialites deal with that issue quite a bit, so know that you’re not alone.

You may feel a bit guilty to even consider not completing your degree. That’s normal too, and it could be that not finishing is an excellent solution for you.

There’s much more to consider, so let’s dig deeper into your question!

Why are you feeling bored?

We’ll need to keep things a bit general because I don’t have a lot of background info on you and your specific situation. I’ll step through your question and then talk about some solutions that I think can help other multipotentialites in the same boat.

Let’s start by talking about the boredom you’re feeling. It might be helpful to consider why you’re feeling bored, and that the answer may not be obvious. There could be many explanations for your ambivalence, but reflecting on a few potential reasons is a terrific place to begin.

1. You’re finished—you got what you came for

Multipotentialites define finishing differently than specialists. To a specialist, you might be “finished” when you obtain that degree, put in 10,000 hours or become a world-renowned expert. But to a multipotentialite, finishing looks very different. As author Barbara Sher puts it, finishing simply means that you got what you came for. “What you came for” could be the completion of a project, but it could also be something more personal, like developing a new skill, solving a problem, gaining a new experience, expressing your creativity, etc. To the outside world, you might not look finished, but only you know if you’re done here.

Imagine sitting down to watch a movie you’ve been super excited to see. About a third of the way through, you realize you’re getting fidgety. You’re easily distracted by the swirly pattern on your couch. Do you suffer through another hour of the movie, or do you switch to something else?

If you’re done, you’re done. Let go of the guilt. There’s no shame in losing interest in a given subject. Give yourself permission to move on to other things that captivate your brain and bring you joy.

2. You’re feeling more challenged than when you started

Have you ever been reading a book and suddenly, halfway down the page, realized you don’t know what you just read? Sometimes this happens because you’re tired or distracted, but it can also happen because you didn’t understand a word or a concept earlier on. Once you go back and clear up the confusion, you can get right back to focusing on your reading.

Perhaps your classes are like that. Starting a course feels fun and exciting, because you’re just getting oriented to the material. However, you may have to work harder to keep up as you get deeper in. That mental shift can cause boredom, particularly if you’re not absorbing the material as you progress.

Take some time to discover if there are places in your coursework where you stopped understanding things quickly. Then backtrack and get a hold of the concepts you missed out on. That exercise may get you interested again!

3. Something new is taking away your focus

Ah, Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS). The Syndrome is real, and it happens to the best of us. Multipods are particularly affected by SOS because it’s so easy for us to get excited by the potential of a new idea or project.

If you find that a fresh interest has started to replace your schoolwork, don’t just sweep the new discovery under the rug. It will likely continue to pull at the back of your mind anyway. There are great strategies to organize your mental space, allowing you to focus on your courses and keep your more recent curiosity.

Ask yourself what you expected to get from the degree

As we step through more of your question, you should review your original reasons for pursuing a graduate degree. Again, there are some key questions to consider. Let’s walk through some potential motivations you may have had for starting this path of study in the first place.

The certificate

Did you set out to get that piece of paper so you could qualify for better pay, or even a better job? Some positions absolutely require a graduate degree, while for others it may be unnecessary. Take some time to research and assess whether the certificate will really help you land a better job, get a raise, or otherwise meet your goals.

The achievement

Many people start projects with the end goal of being able to say, “I did it!” That’s a great feeling, and there’s nothing wrong with obtaining a graduate degree solely for the satisfaction of the achievement itself.

Are you still interested in this specific achievement or is there something new you’re involved with that may give you that same feeling of fulfillment?

The education

Do you like to learn new things just for the fun of it? Many people, particularly multipotentialites, head down a path simply to broaden their knowledge, not to fill an end goal. Not having a finish line to cross is totally okay. If the goal is simply to learn, there may be other ways to achieve it as well. Many multipotentialites are autodidacts and do quite well learning with an internet connection and a pile of books.

Sunk costs

When you’re deciding whether or not to continue something—whether it’s baking a cake or pursuing a graduate degree—it makes sense to contemplate how much you have already invested. 

In the case of this graduate program, the financial costs associated with obtaining a degree may be quite significant. It’s worthwhile to analyze the monetary value of what you’ve already spent. Ask yourself if you’ll lose more by quitting than you will gain by finishing. Again, take into account the value of what a degree might bring in the job market.

Secondly, don’t overlook the mental costs. Have you already put in so much intellectual effort that quitting will leave you feeling unfulfilled? Or, is the thought of enduring one more hour of the boredom you’re feeling just too much to bear?

Reviewing both the mental and financial aspects of your sunk costs could bring you closer to a resolution.

Where to go from here?

We’ve explored a lot of potential reasons you might not want to finish your degree. Let’s talk about some practical things you can actually do about them—including the option to stay the course.

Take a break and graduate later. It’s entirely doable to hit the pause button on getting your degree. Talk to your school administrator about how that can work. Maybe after a breather, you’ll feel excited again.Put your energy into new things. Has your passion run its course? Is it possible that you already got what you needed out of your schoolwork, and you don’t need to continue on the same path? Focusing on things that genuinely excite you, whether that means leaving your program or just dividing your attention, may bring your life back into balance.Learn differently. If it’s all about education for you, there are many ways to get that without the formality of a degree. Perhaps, instead of taking a full complement of courses in a graduate program, you can take one course at a time. Or you could pursue your studies on your own. Either way, this may enable you to get deeper into a subject and enjoy the learning experience itself.Stay the course. After all of these considerations, it’s entirely conceivable that you’ll decide to complete your graduate program. When you factor in your sunk costs—both mental and financial—you may find that the best solution is to move forward with getting your degree. It’s an option worth considering as much as quitting.The correct answer for you

Multipods typically have more than one string to their bow. While we’re all very similar in that way, we are also unique individuals with varying motivations and histories. The right answer for you about completing your degree (or not) won’t match up with someone else’s, even if they’re on a similar path.

Hopefully, the alternate options I mentioned above will help you reframe your thinking and guide you to your best answer.

Your turn

Have you ever invested a lot of time and effort (and maybe money!) into something, only to feel done before it’s “supposed” to be over? Do you have any experiences with graduate school? Leave a comment below and share your experience—and your tips for handling this common multipotentialite experience.

Is there something that’s getting in the way of you living your best multipotentialite life? Got a puzzling productivity challenge or career quandary? Is there a particular family member who won’t accept your many facets? Or maybe you have a more general question about multipotentialites and how we move through the world? Send your “Dear Puttylike” questions to advice@puttylike.com

Doing/being/exploring ALL THE THINGS is easier with a community!

Did you know we have a private community of hundreds of multipotentialites from around the world? We support each other, share advice and cheer each other on as we build lives and careers around ALL our passions.

Learn more and join the Puttyverse community here:

The post Dear Puttylike: Should I Quit Pursuing My Degree? appeared first on Puttylike.

Call for Writers

Hi multipotentialites,

Puttylike is looking for two outstanding writers to join our team! Are you a multipotentialite with something to say and a talent for saying it well? Do you have experience with writing for publication and working with an editor? Let’s talk!

We’re committed to building a diverse staff and strongly encourage applications from Black, Indigenous and people of color, queer folks, neurodivergent people and people with disabilities.

Both open positions are part-time, remote, independent contractor roles. Please read on to learn more and see if you’d be a good fit.

Regular Contributor & Copywriter

Puttylike’s readership is a vibrant community of multipotentialites who come to our blog for inspiration, practical tips and big ideas about living their best multifaceted lives. This is a hybrid position, requiring an excellent writer who can showcase their unique perspective as a regular contributor and deliver clean copy in brand voice on a weekly basis. If you can shift between modes like nobody’s business, and you have a solid understanding of what we do at Puttylike, read on!

Compensation

$650 USD/month

What you’ll do

As a regular contributor and copywriter at Puttylike, you’ll:

Write one 1,000-1,500 word article for the Puttylike blog each monthWork with our managing editor to revise your work for publicationRespond to blog comments thoughtfully and in a timely mannerWrite the weekly Puttyverse community newsletterWrite the weekly Puttylike newsletterWrite occasional creative copy for social media, emails, website, etc.Write occasional announcements for the PuttyverseParticipate in a monthly online pitch meeting with our writers and editorial teamFollow an editorial calendar, collaborating with other members of the team to ensure timely delivery of materialsWrite content that is consistent with brand style and toneUse Slack to communicate with editorial staff and the rest of the teamDedicate 4-6 hours per weekApplicant requirements:2+ years of experience writing and publishing long-form content2+ years of digital copywriting experience (i.e., newsletters, social media, landing page, website copy)An established knowledge of the voice, tone and content of PuttylikeExceptional writing, editing, and proofreading skills in EnglishDemonstrated ability to create fresh content on an ongoing basisAbility to accept constructive feedback and use it toward growthAbility to work independentlyExcellent organization and time management skillsExperience with social media marketing and/or Canva a plusApply for the Regular Contributor & Copywriter positionRegular Contributor

Puttylike’s readership is a vibrant community of multipotentialites who come to our blog for inspiration, practical tips and big ideas about living their best multifaceted lives. Each of our regular contributors offers their own individual perspective and ideas—and we like it that way! If you’re an excellent writer with a unique voice and a solid understanding of what we do at Puttylike, we’re looking at you.

Compensation

$250 USD/month

What you’ll do

As a regular contributor at Puttylike, you’ll:

Write one 1,000-1,500 word article for the Puttylike blog each monthWork with our managing editor to revise your work for publicationRespond to blog comments thoughtfully and in a timely mannerParticipate in a monthly online pitch meeting with our writers and editorial teamFollow an editorial calendar, collaborating with other members of the team to ensure timely delivery of materialsUse Slack to communicate with editorial staff and the rest of the teamRespond to editorial requests and revise your work as neededApplicant requirements:2+ years of experience writing and publishing long-form contentAn established knowledge of the voice, tone and content of PuttylikeExceptional writing, editing, and proofreading skills in EnglishDemonstrated ability to create fresh content on an ongoing basisAbility to accept constructive feedback and use it toward growthApply for the Regular Contributor positionThe application process

The first step is to complete an online application, including links to a portfolio or writing samples. The editorial team will select several qualified applicants for interview. Due to a high volume of applications, we will not be able to interview all candidates.

Each role has a distinct application. For those interested in both positions, please apply for the Regular hybrid position.

Ready to join us?

Great! Please submit your application by June 10, 2022. Remember, your application will be our first experience of your writing. Make sure to edit and proofread accordingly.

If you’ve read through this post and reviewed the application, and you still have questions, feel free to reach out to Valerie Wernet (editor@puttylike.com). Thanks, and good luck!

The post Call for Writers appeared first on Puttylike.

The Demoralizing Truth About Learning New Things

I was once so traumatized from needing the bathroom that I abandoned my car in traffic in the middle of central London. I sprinted desperately into the nearest hotel, across the lobby, and into the bathroom. The moments that followed contained the sharpest agony-to-relief transition of my time so far on Earth.

I appreciate that there’s some humor in this story. But reflecting on this episode now, I recognize it was responsible for travel anxiety for quite some time afterwards—and I can see it has broader parallels in my multipotentialite life. 

To explain, I’ll need to paint the scene in a little more detail:

It was my first time driving in London, and GPS travel was not yet widespread. Since I had no idea where I was going, I was following a friend who supposedly knew the route. As we had left, two hours ago, they had reassured me that the journey would be no more than forty minutes long.

By the time I reached my crisis point, it had been obvious for over an hour that we were lost. We were circling our destination, seemingly endlessly, taking wrong turn after wrong turn—waiting in crawling traffic on a journey that could conceivably never end, being drawn down one-way systems which took us further away from where we wanted to go. My horror mounted along with the fullness of my bladder, and each wrong turn only extended the journey for longer and longer. It was dawning on me that we… might… never… arrive.

Claustrophobic panic grew and grew until I couldn’t bear it any more. I put on the handbrake, opened the car door and ran away.

What overwhelmed me wasn’t the unpleasantness of the moment, although that was a lot. The worst part was that I had no idea how long I’d have to endure. 

If I’d known for certain that I would only have to bear this for thirty minutes, then I think I’d have been able to do it. Each minute would have brought me closer to the end. But I could see that some minutes were taking me further away from relief, and the realization that the burden was growing over time rather than shrinking was too much for me.

I’ve noticed this feeling—in a less acute form—whenever I’ve struggled with a task that seems to grow the more effort I put in. For example: learning literally anything.

Learning can feel like climbing a mountain that grows with every step

Recently I was helping somebody learn to code. They were having trouble getting their code to work. It turned out the solution had multiple steps, which is very common, but as we worked our way down the rabbit hole, I could see my friend getting increasingly demoralized. The size of the task before them was growing with each step we completed.

“I thought I just needed to learn the code, but now I’m having to learn about this tool and environment variables and operating systems and this other package and…”

Anybody who has ever learned anything complex will recognize how it feels for the goalposts to continually run away as whole new areas of knowledge open up. Learning can feel like climbing a mountain that grows with every step, or building a jigsaw puzzle out of pieces that split into more pieces whenever you put them down.

And, yet, people still manage to learn.

At first, my friend blamed themself. “Maybe I’m not cut out to code,” they fretted. But I pointed out to them that nobody is born with this knowledge. Why should they expect themselves to magically know it advance?! 

More importantly, the size of the task wasn’t growing at all—it was only their perception that had changed. From my point of view, they were learning rapidly and making great progress up the metaphorical mountain. It was their belief that the mountain was small that was being revised.

The trick is to expect this change in perspective when learning new things, and to greet it with delight instead of overwhelm. Oh no, more to learn?! becomes, Oh cool, more to learn!

I guess this is what people are referencing when they say to focus on the journey rather than the destination.

Persist or pivot

It’s easy to say “enjoy the journey” about an arguably fun task like ‘learning’, but how can that apply when the task genuinely sucks and we actually need it to stop? For example, I can’t imagine “learn to enjoy the journey” would be useful advice to my panicking, desperate self on that day in London.

When the task before us is growing and we desperately need it to end, we really have two options: persist or pivot. I persisted with driving for as long as I could bear, but eventually I needed to pivot—to abandon the car and run.

Similarly, if someone was stringing me along on a work project and I needed the situation to resolve, only so much persistence would be wise before I pivoted and moved on.

While persist and pivot are great tools for dire situations, true wisdom involves avoiding dire situations in the first place. If I’d been to the bathroom and researched the route before I left, then my particular dilemma may never have arisen. Unfortunately, it took that sharp lesson for me to learn to plan better.

Overwhelmed? Ask yourself these questions:

Most often, tasks that seem to be growing are finite, and the journey will end—and when it does, it can be a huge relief.

I hope you never have to go through a panicked escape of any kind, but if you find yourself overwhelmed by a situation that seems to be continually getting away from you then these questions may help:

Is it just my perception of the situation changing, or is the actual task growing?Will more effort on my part actually help me to resolve this situation faster?Can I accept the situation and learn to enjoy the journey?If not, what’s my emergency escape route? (Hopefully this isn’t as extreme as “abandon a car in traffic.” If it seems to be, can I find a smoother escape?)

And there’s an important question for later, when the overwhelm has receded. How can I avoid these situations in future?

Multipotentialites aren’t more likely to pee our pants in traffic (at least, not to my knowledge), but we are likely to navigate ever-changing tasks and to repeatedly take on huge learning projects. Next time you’re dealing with a task that seems to grow the more you work on it, remember that you’re not alone and see if the ideas above provide some relief.

And trust me, the relief of finally getting such a task under control can be very great indeed.

Your turn

Have you ever experienced a task that grows as you work on it? Do you have tips for knowing when to persist and when to move on? Share your stories and ideas with the community in the comments!

Doing/being/exploring ALL THE THINGS is easier with a community!

Did you know we have a private community of hundreds of multipotentialites from around the world? We support each other, share advice and cheer each other on as we building lives and career around ALL our passions.

Learn more about the Puttyverse and get notified next time we open the doors:

The post The Demoralizing Truth About Learning New Things appeared first on Puttylike.

Laughter is Self-Care for Your Sense of Perspective

Are you feeling very serious? Multipotentialite minds are always working and consequently endeavoring to make lots of things happen at once. Sometimes you can forget why you even started a new venture. If you ever feel like the fun has gone out of something you initially loved, I have a phrase to help shake things loose. 

I learned the expression years ago, in the music world. I played trumpet in both classical concert bands and jazz bands. Both types of bands rehearsed almost every day. And both types of bands started rehearsals by tuning up.

In concert band, tuning could take quite a while. Not only were there more members, but the tuning was precise. Our director would take every section through a tuning, then start all over again if he wasn’t satisfied. Sometimes it could take 45 minutes before we even started to rehearse a song. Then there could be more tuning. And later on—you guessed it—some tuning. The exactness called for in the performance of a classical piece demands tuning that is right on the money. 

In contrast, tuning for jazz band was often short and sweet. Just 20 minutes into a rehearsal, we were typically already into our second song. See, the tuning didn’t need to be so squarely calibrated in jazz band. Compared with classical music, jazz is meant to be played in a less structured way. That magic phrase I mentioned earlier? “Close enough for jazz.” If you guessed that I liked playing jazz more than classical, you’d be right.

“Close enough for jazz” means, Hey, let’s not agonize over this, okay? Let’s do what we came here to do, which is play music. I love the phrase, and I’ve tried to adopt it in other areas of my life and work. I’m not always successful, but remembering that phrase helps when I get stuck.

As multipods, we tend to deep dive and get overly serious about what we do, like a classical concert band tuning up. That tendency—no, let’s call it an ability!—is a gift, and we should embrace it. But sometimes, we can get so serious about what we’re doing that we get stuck in the tuning phase and stop enjoying what we set out to do. It can feel like we don’t even get to play songs anymore.

Sometimes, I’m working away at something and I start to take myself way too seriously. As I notice it happening, I see it get in the way of my enjoyment. I start trying too hard, and ironically the results are worse than if I had taken a more chilled approach. In those moments, if I’m willing to let go of some of the details, I am able to enjoy myself a lot more along the way.

It’s actually funny, when you think about it

Developing a sense of humor about yourself and what you’re doing can make life easier. Sometimes laughing at ourselves can even help us do better work.

I once worked on an animated children’s TV show as a storyboard artist. My job was to create a visual representation of the scripts before they went into full production. Part of the process was meeting with a team of researchers to make sure that our visuals were on target and appropriate for kids.

The function of my storyboards was to provide a map for the director and animators to follow. The finer details were not as important as the position of characters and objects. Even so, meetings with the research team often progressed slowly. Little by little, their comments would start to pile up.

“That apple looks kind of big. Is it too big?”

“I’m concerned about the toaster. Should the handle be square like that?”

“The countertop corners look sharp. Can they be rounded?”

I repeatedly explained that each one of those items was only a general depiction, and the Design Team would create the final images. My storyboards weren’t meant to be perfect. They served their intended purpose! Still, eventually, the researchers and I always circled back to the same questions. It was a maddening exercise, and I complained to everyone within earshot about it. I took the comments very seriously and even got upset from time to time.

That is until the other staff, seeing my frustration, intervened. I would arrive at work to find cute little notes on Post-Its all over my desk:

“This keyboard is too big.”

“Does this chair have to be black?”

“Why is this pencil facing North?”

Of course, it was hilarious. It shook me out of my weightiness, and I could finally see the humor in the situation. My coworkers helped me get back into the “jazz” phase of working on an animated TV show. I loosened up and started enjoying my work again. And I like to think that I was even more productive than before.

Ultimately, I was able to train the research team on what “close enough for jazz” meant within the context of our storyboard meetings. It took a couple of years and a lot of rehearsal, but eventually we learned to spend less time tuning and more time playing.

Self-care for your sense of perspective

You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.

—Jon Kabat-Zinn

You’re not always going to have someone else around to give you the perspective that my coworkers offered me. Sometimes you have to find it for yourself. Since working in TV, I’ve developed a few methods that help me get unstuck when I’m fixated on perfection.

Go upside-down

As a kid, did you ever sit on a chair or couch the wrong way, with your head towards the floor? If you didn’t, it’s worth a try. When you gaze around the room hanging upside-down, everything looks… weird. You get a whole new perspective (literally) on a place you spend a lot of time in. Maybe you’ll even get some new decorating ideas—just don’t get too distracted! If you can’t physically hang upside-down, try tilting a mirror at an angle and looking around that way.

It’s a silly activity, but that’s the point. Going upside-down pulls us out of our seriousness and shows us a different way of looking at something we thought we knew very well. You can do the same thing when you’re mentally stuck. Turn your vexing problem upside-down and look at it in a silly way. For example, if you’re so deep in learning a new language that you can’t remember why you started, switch to a different language. Try learning a little Klingon, for example. It may just shake things loose enough that you can enjoy learning the human language again.

Watch the blooper reel

YouTube is full of blooper reels from TV shows and movies. It’s particularly fun to watch those from an intense action movie or thriller. Watching and listening to actors mess up lines and start cracking up during somber scenes is a kick.

Witnessing other peoples’ bloopers might be enough to knock you out of your seriousness, but the thought experiment goes further than that. If you can start to imagine what your personal blooper reel would look like, it may give you a sense of playfulness about whatever you’re doing.

Close enough for jazz: not just for tuning a sax

Multipotentialites tend to get super focused when we’re passionate about something. The ability to be involved in many different things so fervently can be an advantage. Multipotentiality can also be the greatest adventure when you allow yourself to experience the simple joy of doing.

You can work hard at something, care about it a lot, and still maintain a sense of lightness and fun. It’s not always easy to do, especially if we’re feeling pressure to deliver a product or achieve a goal. But sometimes, loosening things up and moving forward even though the tuning isn’t just right may even help us increase productivity. Using the mantra “Close enough for jazz” might be the way to get us out of our heads and be able to enjoy the thing we’re doing again.

Your turn

Your turn! What are some methods you use to loosen things up when work gets too serious? Do you have other types of self-care for your sense of perspective?

The post Laughter is Self-Care for Your Sense of Perspective appeared first on Puttylike.

The Multipotentialite Community Changed My Life

When you get a bunch of multipotentialites together in a room—even a virtual room—the possibilities are pretty much endless. A few days ago, I got to witness a tune on the banjo, a poem about social justice, a dramatic reenactment of a scene from The Godfather, and a gorgeous rendition of Hallelujah…in Esperanza.  There were a bunch more performances too, each more surprising than the last, at a recent Puttyverse Open Mic night we held on Zoom.

Imagine it! Dozens of multipotentialites from all over the world coming together virtually to share their skills and cheer each other on.

It’s one of the great privileges of my life to witness all the diverse talent in our community, but what’s even better is how unbelievably supportive everybody is! In the sometimes cold, cruel internet, the ‘verse is a space of warmth and kindness. I feel so proud of what we’ve built.

The Puttyverse community turns 10 this week!

Yes, our online community for multipods has been growing and flourishing for 10 WHOLE YEARS. That’s like 100 years in internet time! It’s a big deal.

We’ve been celebrating our multipotentialite decade all month with various events and activities. However, this is such a major milestone that I thought I’d publish a piece here to honour the magic that happens when multipotentialites come together in community. I asked our members to share a bit about how the ‘verse has changed them. 

Whether or not you join us in the Puttyverse, here are three reasons you should get into community with other multipods who just GET IT:

1. You don’t have to explain yourself, yet you feel instantly understood

In a multipotentialite community, no one pigeonholes you, judges you by your job title or even blinks when you dive into something totally new. In fact, people cheer you on and genuinely want to help you reach your goals. In a space like this, you are free to explore, leave things behind and redefine yourself again and again.

As Diana puts it,

“Here, people get me. I am free to have a conversation about my work or projects without needing to explain that I have multiple interests and skills over various fields. People appreciate my curiosity and creativity without trying to box me into a limited definition of who I am. We all understand and can talk about the benefits and challenges of being a multipotentialite.”

Even when you’re shy or introverted, multipods in community welcome you and make sure you feel accepted:

“This is the first time in my life where I don’t have to filter my questions, my makeup, my interests. There is always a smile, a kind comment, a hug, a suggestion, a sharing of experiences, vulnerability, warmth…room to create, gather people for a project, talk about a topic. It took a few weeks to relax into this parallel universe, months to add a photo to my profile, but even when I didn’t have a profile photo, it didn’t matter. I was received, heard, valued, cheered. I mattered, my input was welcomed.”

—Kati

2. You make friends & connect with people on a deep level

Since we’re all multipotentialites, we have a shared understanding of our unique gifts and challenges. Growing up in a specialist-oriented culture, many of us have been through similar experiences. 

As puttypeep Ryan explains, this shared understanding of the multipod experience fosters genuine connection:

“I am more open with people because I have found more people I can trust. I have found and made new friends and even casual acquaintances who I open up to—with some limits and boundaries—better than most of my in-person friends and family. I have shared more personal stories and even some vulnerabilities with the accountability huddle group that I thought I’d hold inside forever.”

There’s also something really special about meeting people across our many differences. The Puttyverse is an international community, and meeting other multipods from different countries is phenomenal:

“I love having Puttyverse friends from all over the world, especially ones who are one nationality (or more) and who live in a country other than their own, just like me. The diversity of people here is just so inspiring. Also, the acceptance of each person, just as they are, is very heart-warming.”

—Cat

Members of the Puttyverse at a virtual open mic event3. It builds your confidence to be your authentic multipotentialite self out in the world

When you’re around other multipotentialites, you get more comfortable sharing your many passions and projects with non-multipods. This can translate to being more confident in the workplace, with family or even when answering the dreaded question: So, what do you do?

I love what Kati has to say about this:

“I feel better in society. I stepped fully into my identity and I don’t feel the need to justify to others what I like and what I do. I decide how much, what and when to share some parts when relevant, like a diamond highlights a facet when hit by light.”

This inner confidence can translate into professional opportunities, too:

“I‘m now so used to being a multipod, and that this is okay, that I don‘t question myself anymore and I can’t even remember how it was to do that. I go directly to thinking: “and how can you accommodate my needs as a multipod?” when scrolling through job opportunities, instead of trying to fit myself in the employer’s mold.”

—Vero

Find yourself some multipotentialites!

It’s in every multipotentialite’s interest to get around other multipods. It can make you feel so accepted, increase your confidence and mental health, and help you bring your multipotentialite gifts to the world. It’s certainly changed my life!

If you would like to experience the magic for yourself, and join our community of over 600 multipotentialites from all corners of the world, head right over here and sign up by Friday, April 29 at 8am EDT.

A special gift for you

In celebration of our 10 year Puttyversary, I’m giving a copy of my workshop, Multipod Productivity, to anyone who signs up for our annual membership by Friday. 

And if you’re already a puttypeep and would like to upgrade from monthly to annual or add another year to your annual membership, we’re happy to send you the workshop, too. Just email Joel or message him in the ‘verse.

Happy 10-year anniversary, my multipotentialite friends!!! I’m so proud of what we’ve built. I may have started the community back in 2012, but it wouldn’t be what it is today without each and every one of you.

Here’s to another 10 years, and beyond!

Love,

The post The Multipotentialite Community Changed My Life appeared first on Puttylike.

Ikigai Isn’t What You Think…It’s Much Better

I’ll finally be happy when…

Have you ever uttered that line to yourself? I’ve said this often while trying  to concoct my dream multipotentialite career as “an educator, coach, public speaker, singer, dancer, classical pianist, and activist with a smile.” Over the years, I’ve tried to find just the right combination of these interests and passions to keep me smiling, always believing that true happiness was just out of reach. I thought I only needed to keep spinning that Rubik’s cube until one day – happy day! – everything would line up perfectly like it was always meant to be. 

On that day,  I would find the multipotentialite career that would give me the lasting happiness I was looking for.

One of the concepts I used to get me there is what you may know as Ikigai. Have you heard of it? The version I first learned taught me that your dream career, your one true calling, or even your reason for being – depending on how ambitious you get with it – must meet four criteria. It must be something you love, that you’re good at, that you can get paid for, and that the world needs. It’s often illustrated as a 4-part Venn diagram, with “Ikigai” in the middle where everything overlaps.

Ikigai sounded like a dream at first

When I first discovered this set of overlapping circles, I thought I had finally found The One – the framework that was going to make my dream of a happy multipotentialite career come true. All I had to do was pin down exactly what I was good at, what I loved, what I could get paid for, and what the world needed, then work my way up to finding a career path that answered all four questions. Happiness – via my One True Calling – would be waiting for me, right there in the middle.

But it wasn’t. Because that’s not Ikigai at all.

Don’t get me wrong—in my opinion, What do I love? and What am I good at? are inspiring and intriguing questions to ask, especially when it feels like the world is always trying to ask me What do you do for a living?

 I found hope and joy in freely naming my multipotentialite gifts, exploring what I might want to do with each of them, and never having to choose just one to make me happy.

It helped me do all the things

Once I filled out my Venn diagram, I got busy passionately pursuing as many answers to the questions  as possible. I got three degrees in education, using them to advocate for students who don’t usually get a voice at the decision-making table. Today, anti-racism and decreasing the stigma of mental illness is part of my daily, life-giving work. I accepted many full-time and part-time jobs developing curriculum of all kinds. I did public speaking, taught workshops, and hosted gigs. I taught and choreographed dance in studios, camps, and dance teams. This year I’m dancing in a musical again! I played piano for professional ballet company rehearsals, accompanied other musicians, played in bands, sang in choirs, and competed in a bunch of classical piano competitions. 

As I chased this false concept of Ikigai, I even took the time to celebrate once in a while. 

I did it!! I made my generation proud by becoming a paragon of hustle culture! I ran out of words in one of my LinkedIn job descriptions! As this terrible Fiverr ad states, I became a “Doer.” 

And then I started to break down.

It helped me burn out

In the midst of celebrating the fact that I was apparently good at a lot of things I loved, some of which the world needed, and many of which I could also make a living doing, I suddenly felt…tired.

It turns out that what I am not good at is adding more than 24 hours to the clock. None of us are. (Time wizards: please get in touch with me at the bottom of this article.) And what I do not love is being so tired that I forget what joy feels like. And I feel quite confident that what the world does not need is another person who is stretched so thin that she is no good to anyone. In a capitalist society, getting paid is essential – I’ll give you that. But getting paid is also a great deal less rewarding when you are too busy and exhausted to appreciate the money you make (by getting paid to do things that you’re good at and that the world needs).

That’s because it wasn’t the real Ikigai at all

You can see where this is going, right? It was time to face the fact that doing more things I loved, making more money than the year before, and even contributing more to what the world needed was absolutely failing to  give me the happiness I’d pictured. 

The more things I did, the further I felt from finding that magical space in the middle of the diagram. So I did some research. What I found rocked my world:

First, Ikigai is not a Venn diagram.

Second, Ikigai is not about happiness.

Ikigai is about values and purpose

The framework I’d been working with—and that many of us have come to know as Ikigai—is a method that has helped many people identify their purpose. But it isn’t Ikigai. It’s not even Japanese. 

It’s known as the Venn diagram of purpose, and Ikigai Tribe attributes it to Spanish author and psychological astrologer, Andres Zuzunaga, who created it in 2011. The diagram first publicly appeared in the book Qué Harías Si No Tuvieras Miedo (What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?) by Borja Vilaseca in 2012.

In fact, Ikigai Tribe says that Ikigai is NOT about making money, about what the world needs from you, or about what you’re good at. For a multipotentialite, this might be a relief! 

But get this: Ikigai isn’t always about what you love, either.

Ikigai is more about living your values and finding meaning and purpose in daily living regardless of what constraints you may have.

Ikigai Tribe

That changed things for me. Does it change anything for you?

Living well isn’t the same thing as being happy

“If we understand and define happiness as fleeting moments of joy, delight and peace in the present, then ikigai is more in line with the characteristics of eudaimonia, the condition of human flourishing or of living well.” —Ikigai Tribe

Ikigai is not the short boost of dopamine that we associate with a feeling of happiness, either. 
As I kept on researching the real meaning of Ikigai, I found the writing of Kentaro Mori and colleagues from the Tohoku University School of Public Health in Sendai, Japan. They explain,

In Japanese culture, having a sense of ‘life worth living’ (ikigai) is a commonly used indicator of subjective well-being. Ikigai does not merely reflect an individual’s psychological factors (well-being, hopes) but also consciousness about [their] motivation for living, because it has a meaning akin to having a ‘purpose in life’ or a ‘reason for living’. In the most authoritative dictionary used in Japan, ikigai is described as ‘joy and a sense of well-being from being alive’ and ‘realizing the value of being alive’

Sense of life worth living (ikigai) and incident functional disability in elderly Japanese: The Tsurugaya Project

Real Ikigai gave me my breakthrough

As I read those words, I burst into tears. Happy tears, though. 

It turns out that I had been looking for happiness at the center of a Venn diagram, instead of taking stock of the elements of my life that already make it a very good one. When I took a break from crafting the perfect, happiness-inducing multipotentialite career, I realized that I am already  living a rich and fulfilling multipotentialite life. Joy has already found me.

Constantly spinning that Rubik’s cube to reconfigure the perfect multipotentialite combination –  or perpetually adding more gigs to my hustle – was starting to detract from my sense of wellbeing. So I chose to stop.

A life worth living

What happens when you stop the hustle and start enjoying the living that’s already happening all around you? What changes when you devote yourself to a multipotentialite goal, but feel fulfilled by the process, effort, and focus you put into it instead of making your happiness contingent on a certain outcome? What emerges when you rest in the knowledge that the choices you make are enough? Well, you probably stop being a doer. And you’ll probably get better sleep. 

To me, that is a life worth living.

Your turn

Have you heard of Ikigai? What concepts have you used on your journey toward a fulfilling multipotentialite life? Share with the community in the comments!

The post Ikigai Isn’t What You Think…It’s Much Better appeared first on Puttylike.

Why You Should Take Up Something Old

You know what’s fun? Things I used to enjoy. It sounds strange, and it doesn’t come naturally to me, but let me explain:

Most of my interests follow a certain cycle. Perhaps you’ll recognize it. The usual form is discovery => obsession => fading => moving on, and the pattern seems to be as natural and uncontrollable as the tides.

I’ve noticed that when an interest begins to fade I often experience a particularly intense feeling, one I struggle to name. It’s as if the disillusionment with that one interest spills over into everything else. Instead of mourning the end of a single passion, I temporarily can’t believe there’s anything else of interest left in the universe.

I know how over-dramatic that sounds. After all, we’re talking about a passing feeling. It rarely lasts long, and it’s often embarrassingly easy to get rid of. Most recently, I shook the feeling off by stumbling across the YouTube channel of a man whose hobby is unblocking street drains and filming the receding floods. If I’m that easy to entertain, then what am I even complaining about?!

But, as temporary as it is, this is always a difficult experience. I hate the feeling of an interest waning, going through the motions as I squeeze the last enjoyment out of an expiring passion. So, when I experienced this feeling recently, I did what I do best: destroyed it with the power of over-analysis.

Labeling old interests as “done”

After some reflection, I realized that I subconsciously label past interests as “finished”—as if everything is a Netflix season that it’s possible to binge:

“Oh, I’ve completed knitting now.”

“There’s nothing left for me in history.”

“Dancing? Binged the whole thing in a week or two.”

Sounds absurd, right? But whenever I’m casting around for some novelty, I clearly believe this—because I mentally disregard everything I’ve ever done. So, how about this for a new idea: take up something old.

Whenever I bother to re-examine an interest I was once completely sick of, I find a hidden well of enthusiasm lurking beneath the surface.

Take physics, for example. I spent four years studying it—and nothing else—at university. By the end of year four I was done. The thought of another partial differential equation or model of the early universe made me feel a little queasy. I shelved it entirely and didn’t look back.

But, as the years went by, my depleted enthusiasm gradually regrew. I started to occasionally check in with the latest discoveries. I subscribed to a newsletter or two. And, lately, I’ve taken an active interest, visiting forums and websites to seek out news and discussion. After being completely emotionally finished with physics, I’m engaging with it in a new way. 

And I’m discovering that there’s a lot of joy to be found in re-exploring old interests.

Familiarity breeds…delight?

Sometimes we leave an interest behind because we desperately need change. But change can work both ways. Coming back to an interest is also a change, and it can be equally refreshing.

Even better, returning to an old interest has the potential to be much more pleasant than starting something new. It feels overwhelmingly comfortable to jump back in, like putting on comfy clothes after wearing a tight suit.

One reason that constantly starting anew is exhausting is because it puts us back at the bottom of the learning curve. But returning to an interest means we’ve already covered that difficult initial distance. Of course there’s always going to be a little rustiness, but muscle memory and lessons learned are still buried somewhere, and it feels fantastic to discover old skills aren’t lost forever.

In fact, returning to an interest can help us to hit higher notes than we did the first time around. Thanks to the passage of time, we’re inevitably a different person than when we put a passion aside. Perhaps we’re more mature, more skilled, or more patient. It’s impossible not to bring new perspectives and new abilities, and these can combine to get us over the humps that left us frustrated last time. 

For example, I picked up my guitar after a decade and was surprised that—far from being as terrible as I remember—I’m actually merely “bad.” The excitement of this realization fed my determination to improve, and it wasn’t long before chords I remembered as “impossible” became second nature. I can now (badly) play more chords than ever!

Don’t burn out, take time out

One model I use to understand waxing and waning interests is that we spend our passion when we repeatedly engage with something, and it replenishes itself when we do something else. This suggests that we can use the concept of returning to an old interest to our advantage, by actively planning to put something down and come back later, even when we’re deeply engaged with it.

It may be counterintuitive to put something down while we’re still enjoying it, but, left to my own devices, I’ll tend to binge something until I’m sick of it, like a dog left with an open bag of food. Instead, consciously scheduling a break can help me avoid burnout and disillusionment. 

But to make this possible, I have to avoid binary thinking, where I’m either “interested” in something, or I’m “not interested.” It’s more nuanced to acknowledge that my interests come and go, and that it’s fine—maybe even better—to take time away and return with renewed energy and a fresh perspective.

“There is nothing new under the sun.”

For some reason, this extremely famous quote from the Old Testament stuck in my head from a very early age and has been lodged there ever since. At first, I thought it was supposed to be depressing. The thought of running out of novelty is difficult for a newness addict like me.

But it also serves as a reminder that there doesn’t have to be anything new. If our past passions are recharging while we’re engaging with our current obsession(s), then there are many, many options for what to do next. There’s a whole list of old hobbies to which we can bring new skills and abilities!

I’d like to encourage you to reflect on the old passions, projects and dreams that you’ve left behind. Maybe there are even some interests from childhood which you could bring a new life to as an adult! 

Can you take up something old today?

Your turn

Have you ever returned to an old passion or interest? Could taking a break from something help to renew your energy? Share your thoughts and stories with the community in the comments!

The post Why You Should Take Up Something Old appeared first on Puttylike.

How to Transform Your Haters into Helpers

How do you handle your haters? I’ve always wanted to be the type of person who drinks the tears of my enemies or who believes that what other people think of me is none of my business. But this is just not who I am, and it’s definitely not who I was before I started taking a leadership role in my own life.   

Before I appointed myself CEO of my own multipotentialite path, I used to be the one shedding tears when someone declared themselves my enemy. Even though this anti-bullying website defines haters as “people who use negative and critical comments and behavior to bring another person down by making them look or feel bad,” I was overly invested in what haters thought of me—because I assumed they had more information than I did about who I was (really), or who I was supposed to be. 

I have come to terms with the reality that I will never be able to automatically discard everything haters have to say. (Maybe it’s the Enneagram 3 in me…) But  I have also realized that haters do not have my best interests in mind. So I have to deal with them skillfully by figuring out what they can do for me.

What role have haters played in your multipotentialite journey? What’s their go-to technique? For example, do they use cutting words to discourage you? This includes passive-aggressive comments that rattle you by making you wonder, Did I just hear what I thought I heard? as well as aggressive-aggressive comments that make you wonder where they learned their manners. Or maybe your haters are unfailingly polite to your face, but sneakily employ gatekeeping techniques to deny you permission from pursuing a multipotentialite lifestyle. What is their deal? I came across this fun acronym that might explain their motivation:  HATERS stands for Having Anger Towards Everyone Reaching Success. Let’s discuss.

The Hater is overly concerned with your success

Haters are genuinely (and weirdly) obsessed with your success and prosperity, especially with doing whatever they can to stand in the way of it. They may be jealous of the multifaceted life you are creating as a liberated multipotentialite, or of the way that too many things in too many categories seem to come too easily to you. This motivates them to continuously throw up ridiculous, unnecessary, and generally uncalled-for roadblocks full of Haterade intended to slow you down from succeeding at yet another thing.

Or your Hater may see life as a zero-sum game, where they take it personally every time you experience a small victory in crafting the multipotentialite life you dreamed of. Even though you had no idea you were involved in a fight-to-the-death competition against them, Haters interpret each of your small wins as big, personal, and humiliating losses in their own life. In other words, they create you as their own personal Hater, without your consent.

In your more generous moments, you genuinely want to ask the Hater: “Who hurt you?” in order  to understand why they feel the need to so consistently declare themselves your enemy. In your less generous moments, you ask other questions and call them other names. But could one of those names be “unknowing and unwilling yet effective helper?”  To explore this concept, let’s take a trip into my adventures in academia. Here, scarcity can breed unhealthy competition and ill-informed critique, which allows Haters to proliferate and get away with it by using fancy words to spread the Haterade.

The Hater’s misdirected concern can help you

I once had a professor who told the story of a Hater in the form of a journal article reviewer. This reviewer took great delight in rejecting the professor’s articles every time she submitted one. He would gleefully point out—in painstaking detail—the flaws in every sentence that this professor wrote. It didn’t matter how closely she followed this reviewer’s suggestions for edits; he rejected this professor’s article each and every time.

So, this professor decided on a new strategy. She recruited this reviewer as an unpaid and unknown editor of her work. Confused? Here’s how she did it: she kept submitting her articles to the reviewer, knowing that he would reject them, and he did. 

The professor knew that no matter what she did, the reviewer would never accept her article into his journal. However, she had realized that he was rejecting each of her articles by making harshly-worded but excellent suggestions for improvement.  So she kept submitting. And after she received each rejection, she made the edits the reviewer had suggested. She then submitted her improved article to a different journal that gladly accepted it. Genius!

Is your Hater an obstacle and an ally?

So as a multipotentialite, are there Haters in your life that you can recast as unknowing and unwilling Helpers instead? After all, if they get to rudely construct you as an unknowing and unwilling adversary in their life, you can reconstruct them as someone who unknowingly acts as an ally in helping you achieve the multipotentialite goals in your life. 

I learned how to play with this perspective from the Conscious Leadership Group. They invite us to observe what happens when we stop “seeing other people and circumstances as obstacles and impediments to getting what I most want” and instead start “seeing all people and circumstances as allies that are perfectly suited to help me learn the most important things for my growth.” It doesn’t work in every circumstance, but my life became a lot more fun when I started re-conceptualizing Haters as allies instead of adversaries.

For example, whenever I attended a PhD candidate’s public lecture at my school, I noticed that there was always one Hater who made it their life goal to embarrass the candidate by asking a question they couldn’t possibly answer. I found this outrageous and unfair—and, of course, I took it personally. I started sweating a full three years before my own PhD public lecture, imagining eventually encountering this Hater as a dastardly obstacle and impediment to getting my degree. Whenever I presented seminars, I held my breath until the Hater revealed themselves by asking me a ridiculous, unanswerable question that was infuriatingly often “more a comment than a question.”

How I defeated my Hater

I tried preparing and over-preparing for seminars. Didn’t work. I tried using every moment in the shower to quiz myself on answering the hardest questions I could think of. That also didn’t work, and it made the shower one less place I could find peace and relaxation. Unhelpful! So, eventually I just stopped. Instead, I started a fun game that I now teach to all of my students: Guess Who Brought The Haterade Today. 

When I arrive at a lecture or seminar, I scan the room. If I correctly guess who brought the Haterade, I award myself 50 invisible and completely inconsequential points, and I award my Hater the victory of appearing smarter than me. Each time my Hater reveals themselves as The One Who Is Smarter Than Me, I take great joy in describing how much of a Great Question they have asked, and how much I absolutely do not know the answer. Then, I’m free to move on with my seminar and with my life. I tell my students how freeing it is to no longer hide behind a facade of being all-knowing in every facet of academia, because their time is much better spent accepting their true identity as a fellow human just trying to graduate.

What I learned about the real Hater

Looking back, I could say that what I needed to learn in those moments wasn’t my spot-the-hater game. It was that I should stop trying to be the smartest person in the room. But what I needed even more was to get curious about where the pressure to look smart at all times was coming from, since I am absolutely not a competitive person by nature. I’ve already written about the pressure that people who come from groups that have been marginalized in the academy can feel because they are taught that their acceptance to the academy is conditional on consistently performing over and above everyone else at all times and in all areas.

The Hater in my seminar was perfectly suited to help me understand that the most important thing I needed to learn for my growth was to stop letting perfectionism and imposter syndrome steal my joy.  As I transitioned from student to staff member at my university, I began to understand that my mission was to defeat the real enemy: unfair expectations and inequitable barriers that keep students marginalized in the academy. That is a mission I gladly accept, because pursuing it brings me closer to living a more authentic life as a leader in the academy.

What can you learn from your Hater?

So my multipotentialite friend, how do you respond to the Haters in your life? What have you learned from them? The real problem with Haters may not be found in the critical words they use to distract or discourage you, but in the ways that their Haterade keeps you from moving closer to self-acceptance.

Your turn

Let’s start a conversation about your Hater in the comments. How have you repurposed criticism from a Hater to help you live a more authentic life as a multipotentialite?

Doing/being/exploring ALL THE THINGS is easier with a community!

Did you know we have a private community of hundreds of multipotentialites from around the world? We support each other, share advice and cheer each other on as we building lives and career around ALL our passions.

Learn more about the Puttyverse and get notified next time we open the doors:

The post How to Transform Your Haters into Helpers appeared first on Puttylike.

It’s Time to Spring Clean Your Brain

Have you ever started to do a little spring cleaning and been shocked by how much dust has accumulated during the winter months?

In our physical world, dust collects on window sills, furniture, and the knick-knack shelf. But have you ever considered how much dust collects in our minds over a long period?

Throughout the year(s), multipotentialites tend to collect all kinds of mental ephemera: ideas, projects they want to start, things they want to learn… You act on some of them, but others inevitably get placed on a shelf until you figure out what to do with them. And sometimes they stay there, collecting cobwebs in the back of your mind.

This becomes a problem when you start to run out of room on the shelf. Or, when the mental knick-knacks start collecting so many dust bunnies that it’s almost impossible to see the beauty of what they once were. 

It’s hard to focus on new ideas when you have a dusty collection of older, unprocessed ones staring you down. While these ideas or plans may not be top of mind all the time, they’re taking up space. It can be good to do a mental spring clean and sweep up some of the dust from the back of your mind.

You might be wondering, What’s wrong with a few cobwebs in the corners? Nothing, of course. A big part of multipotentialite magic is having a bank of wonderful ideas and potential projects tucked away in your brain. But when they build up over time, they can start weighing you down.

Why you need to clear out the cobwebs

Did you know that your thoughts have shape and weight?

 According to a theory by IBM physicist Ralph Landauer, the thoughts and ideas in your mind exist in the physical world. That is, they take up actual space in your skull!

Considering that your thoughts are represented physically in your brain, it makes sense that at some point you’re gonna feel it. Maybe not physically— your head doesn’t start leaning to one side when your mind is bogged down!—but, on some level, that information makes its presence known. This is particularly true of information that requires a response or action from you.

Think about those little red notification circles on your devices. Even if you turn off those notifications, you still know that there are people you need to respond to and tasks that need completing. It’s right there in the back of your mind, waving at you whenever you (almost) have a quiet moment.

Multipotentialites get attached to so many ideas, projects, and paths! It can be hard for us to figure out how to sort through the old, dormant stuff.

Once you blow off the dust, what do you do with the things you uncover?

There are a few actions you can take to remove physical clutter from your life. I’ve come up with a few analogous choices that will help you sort things out and unload some mental weight. Let’s start with the most extreme choice first: throw it out.

Trash it

Take a knick-knack (idea) off your mental shelf and dust it off a little. Is it just too old and moldy to recover? Is all the magic gone? Sometimes a thing you’re over the moon about in September has lost its shine by April. That’s okay. Throwing away an old notion doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

Of course, on the way to the trash it’s possible you’ll find renewed interest in the thing. I have a game I play with my kids when we’re trying to choose a movie to watch. I hold a couple of options behind my back. After they make their blind choice, we all take note of their reactions. If they’re disappointed, then we know the other movie is probably better. If they feel excited, then it means they chose well.

You can do this with those old ideas. If you start to throw something away and find yourself deeply disappointed, then maybe it’s worth a little more polishing. Alternatively, if you feel a big load off your mind, then you probably chose well to trash it.

You might also consider the opportunity cost. If letting that musty old hydroponic growing project go means that you can spend more mental energy on learning to speak Hindi, then maybe the old project is best left behind.

Recycle it

What if you’re not quite ready to chuck your idea in the bin? You blow off the cobwebs and there’s still a bit of luster to the original notion. Possibly, you could pick up right where you left off. More likely, the idea doesn’t fit into your current frame of mind or circumstances as it did when you first thought it up.

Is there a part of this old idea that you can weave into something you’re doing now? Or, are you ready to add a new project into your life?

For example, I once decided that I would get into art licensing. I created thousands of illustrations—everything from full pieces to small icons and decorative patterns. After doing this for several months, I got pulled into a large client project and couldn’t work on the art anymore. Every once in a while, it waved to me from the back of my mind.

A few years later, I had some free time and opened up the old files again. I wasn’t quite as keen on following that art licensing path again, but I did love the illustrations I had created. I was too attached to give them up.

Instead of saying a tearful goodbye and heading to the trash, I decided to recycle them. I chose some of my favorites and turned them into a coloring book for adults. I was able to release the weight from my mind by using them for something new.

Sometimes recycling an idea can also give you renewed energy and inspiration: a bonus benefit of spring cleaning!

Give it away

What if you’re not super attached to an idea or venture any longer, but you feel like it could still have a life? Maybe you could find someone who would love to run with it and give it new life—perhaps you already know them!

My late grandmother (very likely a multipod) would often invite my aunts into her chaotic mess of a craft room and tell them, “Just pick one of these and take it away!” “These” were the myriad colorful crochet, knitting, and sewing projects that were strewn about. Grandma was a world class project-starter, and she often found herself literally boxed in by dozens of crafts at once. She was clever enough to call my aunts to the rescue!

Unfinished craft and art projects are great candidates for a hand-off. If you find someone who is passionate about what you’ve started and wants to take it over, you can free your mind and still experience the satisfaction of eventually seeing a finished product.

Obviously, if the back of your mind has been itching to learn a new language, that’s not something you can hand off. Learning goals and private creative projects are not good candidates for giving away. Making peace with throwing them away or recycling them for your own use would be your best options.

In The Puttyverse, there are tons of people open to hearing about new projects or ideas. Many a multipotentialite has tossed out an idea in the forum or asked for help and received numerous responses.

Just like when you trash an outdated idea or plan, handing off a dormant project doesn’t mean that you’ve failed. In fact, it can be a cathartic way to free up your energy for ideas you’re currently in love with and have time to work on.

Is it time for spring cleaning?

Over time, everyone collects plans, goals and ideas. Even if you never bring them into the physical world, they exist in your mind. They take up space, sometimes tying you down with invisible webs. Some of us are better than others at letting these mental knick-knacks go, but we all have to deal with the junk shelf of our minds. 

For some of the world, spring is almost here. Others are heading into autumn. Luckily, there’s no wrong time of year for a spring cleaning of the mind. Throw open the windows. Let in the breeze. Put on some good music. Then start shaking out the rugs in your multipotentialite brain.

Your turn

Do you have multiple projects clogging up your mind? Any plans on what you might do with those brilliant multipotentialite ideas? Share your strategies in the comments!

Doing/being/exploring ALL THE THINGS is easier with a community!

Did you know we have a private community of hundreds of multipotentialites from around the world? We support each other, share advice and cheer each other on as we build lives and careers around ALL our passions.

Learn more and join the Puttyverse community here:

The post It’s Time to Spring Clean Your Brain appeared first on Puttylike.

What Will I Do with My Brief Multipotentialite Life?

Four thousand weeks is roughly seventy-seven human years, a fact I learned from Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. My maternal grandmother, my mother’s twin sister, and my youngest uncle only lived about 2,600 weeks. If I wrote a similar book, it might boast a title like Two Thousand Weeks: Time Management for the Morbid or This Short Life and What To Do With It or—to borrow from Emilie Wapnick—How To Be Everything Only The Things You Care About Most.

If you find death discussions off-putting, please excuse me. I’m fascinated by the great unknown and all of its accompanying rituals and responsibilities—so much so that when I first stepped into my mother-in-law’s garage full of generational, material, memories, I wondered aloud, “Who’s gonna get rid of all this stuff when you die?” She heard me (oops!) and admitted that she had never really thought about it. A couple years later, she told me a service had been arranged so I wouldn’t have to find a resting place for my husband’s preschool toys, which are currently still locked in a box inside her garage. 

I don’t want to pretend that I’ve gotten this whole death thing figured out. Of course, I don’t. It’s for this reason that I’m most curious and open to chat about it. 

When I reflect on the brevity of so many family members’ lives, I also contemplate what this means for my own mortality as a multipotentialite. If I live as long as my Grand Aunt Mag (92 years), that means I have about 2,340 more weeks to go. That would be enough time to check off all the projects on my multipod to-do-list, given continued good health and prosperity. 

However, if I go the way of my aunt and uncle, then I only have 156 weeks to go before I’m human “toast” (if cremated) or human soil (if I’m replanted as a biodegradable tree pod). 

Let me be clear, I want to live as many lives as possible, in this one life I have to live. I drink all the green juices, practice all the yoga poses that don’t require suspending gravity, biohack, meditate, visit doctors preemptively, consume lots and lots of water, and get my fair share of fresh air and sunshine when my city’s lockdown measures permit. But, if three years—or only 156 more weeks—are all that’s in the cards for me, it’s probably time to prioritize my interests.

If I only have 156 weeks to go, I’ve decided for sure that I’m never answering another email. I’m abandoning all bookkeeping tasks—I don’t believe there is an internal revenue/tax authority heaven. (I would NOT advise following me along this route, and I’m  certain your accountant wouldn’t either.) I also won’t be moving back to the United States, from where I now live in Europe. So sorry, Mom!

If I only have 156 weeks to go, I would like to spend them staging grand vacations with my children and their children. I want to be remembered as the esoteric grandma who played hide and seek in the Atlas Mountains or dipped tiny grandchildren’s toes in the river near Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls). I should probably add swimming lessons to my to-do-list. With emails out of the way, I think I could manage.

I’m two years into shooting a project about my Uncle David who lived about 2,120 weeks. It will likely take me another eight months to produce the remaining photographs, and an additional nine months to bring the photobook to publication. That’s 68 weeks, or 40 percent of the remainder of my hypothetically shortened life. I shouldn’t start a new photobook project if I’m not likely to see it through. I don’t want my family to feel like they have to tie up any loose ends on my behalf. They should fully live their own weeks, doing the things that are most meaningful to them.

In my limited time, I would have more and better sex. And not be too shy about role playing, since it’s the only realistic way I’d get to see all of my multipotentialite careers through. I’m not suggesting I’d turn to licentiousness. Rather, with the fleeting time I have in my body, I’d want to experience all it has to offer me and my partner.

I’d write old-fashioned love notes to everyone who has held meaning for me during my time on earth. And I’d invite them to stupidly lavish soirees themed after the multipotentialite public figures I admire most. A Harlem Renaissance costume party where they would attend as Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, or Bessie Smith. Or a Stacey Abrams get-out-to-vote fundraising party, to help bring the people of the state of Georgia a new governor.

I never quite got the grasp I wanted on the mechanics of socialism versus capitalism, or any of the hybrid models in between. It feels like there are important lessons to glean there—lessons I should impart, somehow, to the next generation. Since my youngest child enjoys debate, maybe we could start a book club for just the two of us. We’d spend our nights shouting about the pros and cons of various economic systems. He could reminisce about our arguments with his own future children, and those future children could actually do something about income and resource inequalities.

I find it weird that I’m on the fence about social media. Should I delete my accounts? Or share my remaining weeks with the people of the Internet, a smart phone hovering overhead?

Only about 20 percent of the population dies completely by surprise according to Dr. BJ Miller, co-author of A Beginner’s Guide to The End. Most multipotentialites will leave this earth with some inclination that the end is nigh. Whether or not you have advanced warning of your expiration date, consider exploring the idea that you might have less time than you think. Doing so helped me tune into what my priorities really are, and realign my time to honor those values. This exercise could bring you closer to what’s most meaningful to you. If you’ve been putting your big ideas on the back burner, contemplating the reality of impermanence could lead you one step closer to your most authentic dreams.

Your turn

Approach this article interactively. If you feel safe participating, and are in a stable space mentally and emotionally, try this inquiry for yourself. What would you prioritize in your brief multipotentialite life? Let me know in the comments.

The post What Will I Do with My Brief Multipotentialite Life? appeared first on Puttylike.