Have you ever started something just to give up and move onto something else? Do you have several passions/ interests and struggle to narrow it down to just one? Has anyone not taken your ideas seriously because you’re always trying something new? Girl, you might be multi-passionate! 

My entire life I have always been interested in several things. I could never pick one favourite activity or one thing I really wanted to do. You know those kids that know EXACTLY what they want to be when they grow up? Not me. I had some ideas that varied from teacher to correctional officer to vet to even journalist. I was all over the map and I still am. When I was in college I had big dreams but minimal plans. I got my degree in Psychology and wanted to get a masters in counseling. Everyone was on board with this plan but as I got closer to that I decided I wasn’t interested in continuing with school. Cue everyone being disappointed.

Fast forward a few years. I have a good job in social services and on paper everything is great. In my heart though, not so much. My job drains me. Of course there are good days and bad days just like anything but something is just missing. So that leads me to my present day side hustling journey. There have been many ideas and many different things attempted. Whenever I tell someone about my next best idea there is always excitement mixed in with a bit of eye-rolling. 

Because of all the reactions to my plans, ideas, and passions it’s no wonder that I have always thought of my multi-passionate life to be somehow less than. Why couldn’t I just pick one job I want to dedicate my life to? Why couldn’t I just have one hobby that I love with so much passion that I don’t need others? Many times I thought there was even something wrong with me. Everyone seemed to have a path sorted out and while on paper I did too, it wasn’t making me happy. 

Why do people hate on the multi-passionate?

There is so much pressure in society to be really really good at one thing. To be an expert! How do you become an expert? You dedicate your time to that one thing, learn everything about it, and then spend your life doing that thing. That is a great idea in theory but let’s be real, we only need so many experts in society and not everyone WANTS to pursue one thing for the rest of their life. 

When people start branching off and having multiple jobs and passions it kind of rocks the status quo. Personally, I think that some people just don’t understand the idea of being multi-passionate and therefore it makes them question how serious or dedicated a person is. While some would see picking one path as being motivated and dedicated, others see it as settling. 

Common problems the multi-passionate experience

Not knowing where to start

Whether you are starting a business or picking a career path – it can be hard to know where to start when you have sooooo many ideas. I’ll give you an example from my own life. I originally started a book blog (you know the one – the failed book blog I have told you all about before). I was happy doing that for a while but then I found I didn’t want it to be just books. There was so much more to talk about. I attempted to fit those things into the book blog but no dice. So then I started a life coaching business because I figured I could focus more on my passion for helping and personal development and HEY I could add reading into it. Again, it wasn’t totally me. It took me over a year to figure out how to go about a blog that could be *me* in every way.

Becoming easily distracted

It’s pretty natural to become distracted if your brain is all over the place. If you are thinking about the new blog posts you want to write, a program you want to start for your business, a digital product you could make… yeah, it’s easy to become unfocused. That isn’t saying you aren’t focusing on your ideas but too many ideas floating around your brain can lead to some pretty unproductive work! 

Getting bored with certain ideas

This has happened to me! One day you are suuuper passionate and all you want to do is work on the project. Then after some time for one reason or another you get bored and want to move on. It can feel like all those judgements other people are making of you are true (ps. You are not those judgements and wanting to move on from something that isn’t interesting anymore is normal!)

How to embrace your multi-passionate life

We are seeing more and more influencers, business owners, and just regular everyday people being openly multi-passionate. I think that it is becoming more accepted and normalized. You can see this by how many people have side hustles. Just look at how many Etsy shops there are and people turning their passions into blogs, YouTube channels, and Instagram pages. If you need some inspo check out Jenna Kutcher!

It’s important to embrace your passions and I think to fully succeed in creating a multi-passionate life or business you need to accept yourself for who you are. Remember, there is no one way to do something and we are all unique. So the question then is, how can you start accepting and embracing your multi-passionate life?

Mindset is everything

Another person telling you to work on your mindset, how boring! But it’s so true that mindset is key to success. Switch the script that society is trying to sell you. Being interested in multiple things is okay! Tip: go journal about the reasons it is okay to be multi-passionate. Write about successful people who have shown this lifestyle works!

Stop overthinking things and just start

Like we talked about above, it can be hard to find a place to start. While you are thinking about the exact plan to do it you are also slowly encouraging yourself to not do it at all. So stop with the thinking and just start. Messy action is better than no action and honestly, you can figure it all out as you go!

Figure out your ‘why’

If you can figure out the ‘why’ that drives you everyday then everything else will fall into place. I don’t just mean why you want to do an individual passion but I mean all of it. Why is starting a business that is all encompassing important to you? Why does it matter to you that you can participate in all the hobbies you enjoy? What makes you continuously motivated to do the things you do? I can almost guarantee that there is overlap between it all.

Allow yourself to be excited

You know that feeling of when you start something new or finally go all in on a project? Soak up those feelings and get excited. Talk about your passions, create an Instagram, do whatever it is that sparks joy. The best part about passions is being and feeling passionate so allow yourself to experience those feelings in full!

Let your creativity flow

Have passion projects without the strings attached. Just let your creative juices go and see what happens. Letting things just *be* can be very powerful and really, not every single idea you have will turn into something and that’s okay!

Latest post: How to lower your stress levels when you’re always busy

Related post: Side hustle goals for 2022

Let’s chat!

What are you passionate about?