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Do you suffer from Multipotentiality?

Do you have many interests? Many talents and skills? Have difficulty choosing what to focus on now? Recently I heard a great TEDx talk where Emilie Wapnick described multipotentiality, a word I’d never heard before:

And it resonated! Personally, I have followed passions around computer programming, songwriting, making music with voice, guitar, keyboard and flute, deep friendships, leadership, family, personal development, spirituality, health and well-being, life coaching. I’ve changed careers. And here I am writing to you! Some days, I wonder:

Who am I?
What should I do today?

As a life coach, I invite you to dig deep and identify personal values, discern what brings fulfillment, discover passion or calling and head toward it!

Yet, that can be a very hard thing to do!

Especially if, like me, you have too many passions to choose from!

Here’s the thing: you don’t have to! Especially in this fast paced, ever changing world we live in, it is quite likely that you will need to change direction numerous times throughout your lifetime. Even if you don’t change discipline as I did from technology to life coaching, your chosen area of interest or passion will probably be expressed in ever changing ways.

Are you a multipotentialite? If so, embrace it! Celebrate all the ways you are able to show up and contribute to life, be creative, earn a living, play!

And when it feels like too much, or you struggle to make a decision about where to focus, ask yourself:

What is calling to me now?
What can wait?
What must I put on hold for now?
What path might incorporate multiple interests?
What, if done first, paves the way for something else?

Finally, breathe! Release the struggle. Remember that you can always change your mind. Above all else, whatever you choose for now, focus. You really can’t do two things at once. Multipotentiality is real. Multitasking – not so much!

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What Do You Tolerate?

Tolerate: to endure or resist the action of without serious side effects or discomfort …

Okay. So we tolerate and nothing horrible seems to come of it. We tolerate too many to-do’s on the plate. We tolerate a job that doesn’t challenge us. We tolerate the nagging tooth pain because it isn’t convenient to go to the dentist right now. We tolerate clothes that don’t fit.

Take a few moments to browse the landscape of your life. Consider some or all of these general categories or replace them with others that are more meaningful to you:

  • Career or Education/Academics
  • Money (Job or Obsession with)
  • Primary Relationship
  • Family and other meaningful relationships
  • Physical Environment/Household
  • Spirituality, Personal Growth, Alone Time
  • Health/Exercise/Sleep
  • Creativity
  • Fun and Recreation
  • Social Life

For each, ponder:

What do I tolerate here?
What would shift “tolerating” to “nourishing” or “enjoyment” or “ecstasy”?
What am I willing to risk?

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Soul Journey

What do you believe about a greater purpose for your life? Do you believe there is something beyond this physical plane of body, mind, emotion? What is the life force, the spirit, the soul of you?

Today’s tidbit is an invitation to ponder that “something more”. Use your own language, your own beliefs, what works for you. For me, I am comfortable believing that there is a life force, a soul journey, using me to experience this world and make a difference. Maybe you simply know that you want to make a difference with your life and find the word “soul” disconcerting. It is all okay!

However you describe the “something more” in your life, consider checking in with it today:

What is the greater purpose of my “soul”?
What does my soul need from me today?
How do my plans contradict my soul’s plan?
What does my soul want me to experience today?

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Prejudice

airport-2

While traveling awhile back, I decided that I would walk through the airport, singing, smiling, and attempting to make eye contact with those passing by. Very few folks, men and women alike, do so. Most are staring into the distance or into electronic gadgets or, in response to noticing my gaze, immediately turn away. I continue, a bit saddened by our lack of connection.

Then I sit. Waiting for my plane, I notice the eyes of a man gazing at me. And I immediately divert my own eyes. What is that about?

Embarrassed at my reaction, I know that it is prejudice, fear, the idea that a man (as opposed to a woman) could hurt me or have bad intentions.

I feel like a sitting duck. Yet, minutes ago, I was walking through the airport subjecting others to my gaze, knowing that I had only “good” intentions.

I must ask myself:

  • In what ways do I make others uncomfortable?
  • Is my behavior rude, rather than a gift?
  • What about my own prejudices?
  • What part is wisdom and safety?
  • What is simply unfair prejudice toward a fellow human being?

I am continuing on my journey. I commit to remaining aware of my inner judgments. I commit to question them and release all that is in me which prevents me from being one with you at the center of my being.

What is your intention?

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In Search of Balance

Do you ever notice in yourself a very strong pull of masculine energy? It is characterized by inner voices, often repeating messages from our outer realities, which say:

  • Do more
  • Not enough
  • Not good enough
  • Keep going, there is no time to stop
  • Your feelings don’t matter

And the voices continue non-stop if we allow them.

Yet there is another energy, another voice, a feminine, grounded, centering, sensitive, intuitive side in us all. The feminine energy speaks in these ways:

  • What are you feeling?
  • What would be easeful?
  • What does your inner wisdom know?
  • What rest do you need?
  • What answer awaits your receptivity?

You may relate to these energies as the yin and yang, symbolized here:

The Yin-Yang Symbol

Notice the balance and flow. The feminine yin merges into the masculine yang, white into black, flow and balance. You may believe that one is better than the other. I’d like to invite you into an exploration of both. Whether you are man or woman, you possess and need both energies. If this idea is foreign, or if you are aware of the concept yet are challenged to embrace both energies with your life,  I invite to read more about it. I also recommend this book though it is written from the perspective of woman needing to understand the value of the inner masculine and use it to reconnect with her inner feminine:

Consider it an introduction to a way of being that honors all of you and welcomes a yin, or feminine infused yang into your life. And a feminine, yin energy that is supported by its yang counterpart. From this place, you are free to choose:

What aspects of the masculine do I need now?
How would feminine energy serve this situation?
In what ways am I out of balance?
In what ways have I allowed either energy to go unchecked, unconsciously controlling my actions?