Over the course of my lifetime I have become accustomed to transition; not transition in the world around me in areas such as where I reside, friendships, or accomplishments, but rather shifts from the inside of who I feel called to be and the passion fueling those callings. I went from wanting to follow my father’s footsteps and become an economic and government voice, to being so amazed by the complexity of the human body that I wanted to practice medicine, to now wanting to become an international attorney and travel the world for work. Until I became comfortable with these changes, however, I lived in a surrounding state of insecurity and angst for whatever my future would hold, because I thoroughly believed that I had to find my one and only talent, and run with it as fast as I could. The fact of the matter is, as strongly as I believe we are all here on this earth to serve a specific purpose, we do not have to limit ourselves to one calling and one passion.
I recently watched a Ted Talk by Emilie Wapnick that puts this problem, as I used to believe it actually was, into a different perspective; what if these passions and goals that seem to change as we go from one thing to another, are the product of our own creative innovation that can actually bring these numerous talents and ideas together to form somethings great? Everyone has been asked during their childhood what they want to be when they grow up, but, as Wapnick bluntly puts it, that question “goes from being the cute exercise it once was, to the thing that keeps us up at night”, because we are the product of many generations that lead us to think about WHAT we could be, when in reality we should be trying to find ALL that we can be. We live in a world where individuality is abnormal, and you are looked down upon if you don’t stand firm on your one and only passion; society all too often fails at realizing that when someone with many talents, ideas, and goals actually collaborates these things together, the product created is astonishing. I look back at the things I wanted to do and I like to think that, as one idea led to another and each passion was shaped by the one before it, whatever I end up doing in the future will be derived from the changing goals and passions I had; I can’t imagine how my young dreams of traveling the world in a rock band will play into my future but hey, you never know. For example, I look ahead at my hopes of becoming an international attorney and I know that it is the product of my previous goals of wanting to help people through the medical field, make important decisions through government or economics, and even travel the world playing music. I also find it amazing that I actually could practice law, study economics, and eventually be a political figure also, instead of limiting myself to just one of those things. During my life each time I found a new passion I felt liberated as I finally had something else I could stick with, but I didn’t find true freedom, however, until I realized that instead of running with one passion, I should put them together and create something on my own, and create a future that does not limit me to one thing.
The truth is, I may end up in a path vastly different from being an attorney, and that is completely okay. I have passions that are constantly adapting and goals that grow day by day, and these cannot be limited to a singular destination. Some people know exactly what they want to do their entire lives, and accomplish reaching that goal as they never stray from their one calling, which is truly incredible and should never be questioned, but it is not the way every single person is wired. I used to envy those people who have always known their passion, but instead of envying them we should celebrate our differences in a sense that realizes their one passion is equally as justified as my numerous passions.
We cannot limit ourselves to what other people tell us to do, and once society opens the door for more innovators, creators, and, as Wapnick puts it, “multipotentialites”, our ideas, passions, and goals will come together to create amazing revolutions.
