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Jan. 27th, 2011 02:17 pmThe other day, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sarendipatree linked to this post about "multipotentialites". It's not long, and worth a read:
http://puttylike.com/why-multipotentialites-rock-at-work/
The comments after the post are also well worth looking at. Validating, especially for someone like me. I have spent a lot of my life feeling inadequate because I'm not focused, driven to do just one thing. I thought that if I looked long enough and tried enough stuff I'd find my One Big Thing that I want to do. Eventually, I decided that maybe my thing is just being good at making stuff happen, figuring things out, and communicating about them - not necessarily One Big Unified Thing. The "multipotentialites" thing makes me feel more secure about not being a second-class citizen to those people who do have focus - I like the idea that we all need each other.
Anyway, that's been kicking around in the back of my head for a while. Today I was reading an article about a TCK* (Third Culture Kid, Trans-Culture Kid, Global Nomad, what have you) musician and was reminded through that about the whole "chameleon" tendency. I cannot tell you how relieved I was - years ago - when I found out that other people with similar backgrounds to mine experienced this and even gave it the same name! Like so many things, this chameleon tendency can be both a strength and a weakness - it gives you a distressing feeling of a lack of self, an even-greater-than-normal anxiety about not knowing who you are. But it's also a very valuable tool, to be able to blend in, empathize, work within a new culture or new situation quickly and effectively. I think that as I've gotten older and more self-aware, I've been able to use this more as a tool and avoid the more negative implications.
I feel like these two things go together, for me - the multipotentialite chameleon. In a way, the multipotentialite factor is just being a chameleon in terms of work and tasks - pick things up fast, learn quickly, blend in, don't stick out. I'd never put these two together. Perhaps this awareness will help me to maximize the strengths of these qualities, and avoid their pitfalls.
Read anything lately that made you reconsider how you view yourself?
*I have a pretty extensive library about TCKs, cross-cultural experiences, etc. and would be happy to lend books - if you're local - or recommend, if for some reason you want to know more about this.
P.S. I also recommend the original blogger's free e-book: http://puttylike.com/undeclaredforlife.pdf
And I should probably read Refuse to Choose.
sarendipatree linked to this post about "multipotentialites". It's not long, and worth a read: http://puttylike.com/why-multipotentialites-rock-at-work/
The comments after the post are also well worth looking at. Validating, especially for someone like me. I have spent a lot of my life feeling inadequate because I'm not focused, driven to do just one thing. I thought that if I looked long enough and tried enough stuff I'd find my One Big Thing that I want to do. Eventually, I decided that maybe my thing is just being good at making stuff happen, figuring things out, and communicating about them - not necessarily One Big Unified Thing. The "multipotentialites" thing makes me feel more secure about not being a second-class citizen to those people who do have focus - I like the idea that we all need each other.
Anyway, that's been kicking around in the back of my head for a while. Today I was reading an article about a TCK* (Third Culture Kid, Trans-Culture Kid, Global Nomad, what have you) musician and was reminded through that about the whole "chameleon" tendency. I cannot tell you how relieved I was - years ago - when I found out that other people with similar backgrounds to mine experienced this and even gave it the same name! Like so many things, this chameleon tendency can be both a strength and a weakness - it gives you a distressing feeling of a lack of self, an even-greater-than-normal anxiety about not knowing who you are. But it's also a very valuable tool, to be able to blend in, empathize, work within a new culture or new situation quickly and effectively. I think that as I've gotten older and more self-aware, I've been able to use this more as a tool and avoid the more negative implications.
I feel like these two things go together, for me - the multipotentialite chameleon. In a way, the multipotentialite factor is just being a chameleon in terms of work and tasks - pick things up fast, learn quickly, blend in, don't stick out. I'd never put these two together. Perhaps this awareness will help me to maximize the strengths of these qualities, and avoid their pitfalls.
Read anything lately that made you reconsider how you view yourself?
*I have a pretty extensive library about TCKs, cross-cultural experiences, etc. and would be happy to lend books - if you're local - or recommend, if for some reason you want to know more about this.
P.S. I also recommend the original blogger's free e-book: http://puttylike.com/undeclaredforlife.pdf
And I should probably read Refuse to Choose.