A Short Thought From A Passion-less Person

I used to have a very severe anxiety when someone asks me what my passion is. I have read it so many times that "Passion is the thing(s) that we want to do for free happily" and I'm like "Wait, what... I don't have one" or "Passion is what you enjoy the most," and I'm like, "If that's what passion is, then my passion can change rapidly every year or month". Also I have read and attended some sessions on finding our true passions and can't even sure what mine is. My dream job is also changing time by time, from doctor to programmer to graphic designer to writer to marketer and I'm sure in the future the list will still go on and on, while deep down knowing that I'm not sure either if it's really the thing that I want to do in my whole life until I die.

And even this severe anxiety brought me to the point that when someone tells me "You are good at so many things, it must be easy for you to find jobs", I don't feel happy like it is a compliment, instead it reminds me of how lack-of-passion and passion-less I am. I feel like I can relate so much to the phrase "jack of trades but master of none." I am good at A, B, C, D, but I don't master any of A, B, C, D.

Since I was little I also really adore people that have speciality and I used to think that those kind of people are the people that will easily succeed in life. They know what they like, they know their purpose, they know how to be more and more good at that field, and they have spent a bunch of time to dig more to that field. Meanwhile me, spending years in university studying something that is not my passion but also at the same time relieved because I didn’t get to go to a major that I THOUGHT was my passion. 

But one day (precisely yesterday), I unintentionally bumped into this video from TED, with Emilie Wapnick as the speaker. Emilie studied law during university time, was a musician, once was a web design freelancer, and other experiences in totally different fields - which is why I can relate to her emotionally. It is actually a video from last year and only lasts for 12 minutes, but so relatable - much more than all the hours I have spent to read and attend sessions about “Passions” or “Finding Your True Self” or others similar to that.

Emilie calls people with many interests as “multipotentialites” – which in my opinion is a really beautiful and positive term. In the video Emilie explained a lot on why it is not a problem to not having a fixed passion, a fixed true calling. She also explained 3 super powers which multipotentialites’ have: idea synthesis, rapid learning and adaptability. Moreover, she also told the audiences that it is okay to be a specialist or a multipotentialites and saying that both are good, that the combination of a specialist and a multipotentialite is beautiful – in which I agree.

I find this video is so comforting for me to watch, it lifted the anxiety on my shoulders (maybe not all but I'm sure it's quite a big amount of it). This video is the first passion-related session for me that doesn’t force me to find what my passion is, but instead telling me that it is okay to change passion time by time or have many passions at once and perhaps the more important thing is - the world need multipotentialites.

“Fast Company magazine identify adaptability as the single most important skill to develop in order to thrive in the 21at century. The ecomomic world is changing so quickly and unpredictably that it is the individuals and organizations that can pivot in order to meet the needs of the market that are really going to thrive.” – one of the part of the video that convince me that the world needs multipotentialites.

Actually this post is supposed to be a Facebook status but it is way too long to the point that I decided to put it on my blog, also hoping one day I can go back to this post to remind me (and you) that it is alright to not have a fixed passion and have many interests in life, because there are too many people that encourage multipotentialites to be a specalist.

So for all the multipotentialites out there I want to tell you:

If you have changed your dream job many times...
It's alright.

If you have so many interests and can't decide which of them is your true calling...
It's alright.

If you have spent so much time to study this and that and be good at them BUT still can't figure out what your passion is...
It's alright.

Because I think the most important thing in life is to be kind and happy. Seems simple and easy, but actually for me it is so hard to achieve. True happiness can't be defined just by what our fixed-passion is and if we follow our passion or not.
You can master one thing or be good at many things, it is alright and remember the world needs both of us. Just keep learning and don't forget to be kind. Cheers! <3

Ps: What I explained here is only a lil bit from the video so you can watch the video down below for further understanding!