One of the greatest myths about growing up, is that you'll know when you're there, that you've done it. And yet, talking to my friends in their 30s, 40s and 50s, I hear that we never quite feel we're there. There are lots of reasons for that, and plenty of articles throwing the blame around for it.
I think that these days there is more choice and less security than ever. There is more freedom to break away from traditional patterns, but fewer guarantees even if you stick with the "safe" choices. And all the time, we're just making the best choices we can, while being bombarded with a whole web of opinions to tell us we're wrong. Pretty much everyone is doing the best they know how, making the best of what they have. And pretty much everyone is battling obstacles unseen to the rest of us.
The truth is that we are always evolving, always becoming. There is space for all of us. You don't need to 10x your business. You don't need to make the perfect choices, or even the best. You get to choose what's important to you. You get to change direction midstream. You get to start again.
As much as I believe in leading from the path, in teaching the lessons I need most, I'm not often brave enough to walk my talk. It's often when I'm figuring it all out that I go silent on here. I often worry that I'm not niche enough, that I'm too much of a dabbler. And then I question the value of blogging, without that clarity.
I've had a couple of realisations this year. I heard the term multipotentialite and started using the term multipassionate as well. I also realised that while I develop a lot of different areas, they come down to three strands:
- be - who I want to be in the world
- create - what I make and put into the world
- inspire - how I can lead and support others in their work in the world