I am a scanner!

I remember how a friend of mine in Canada used to comment on my 'lack of focus' and I felt such a loser everytime I started something and gave up soon enough. I thought I had this flaw in my blood which would destroy me in the end, never amounting to anything for the rest of my life until I came across what Barbara Sher who coined the term 'scanner' had written in her books and my perspective about who I am has changed.

I lose interest in things I thought would interest me forever.

I get bored as soon as I know how to do something.

I can't stand doing anything twice.

I keep going off on another tangent.

I can't pay attention unless I am doing many things at once.

I need to be intellectually challenged all the time.

I am a rule breaker and I hate routines.

I need to be on many projects at the same time, moving from one to another to keep me productive.

I know I don't fit into the accepted norm like the majority who are specialists, people who are satisfied with one area of interest. I am genetically wired to be interested in many things. I am curious and would explore everything that I find interesting. I love reading and writing, creating artwork using different media, designing projects and running a business, and they are of equal importance to my wellbeing. Having said that, I have no problem to focus; just a different way from others. I thrive in multi-doing when I invest the same amount of energy in doing several actions at once, giving me the leeway to divert my attention from one thing to another before boredom strikes. Instead of completing one task at a time each after the other, I have several things running all at once, without the need to complete any of them. This kind of parallel process works exceptionally well for long term projects like writing a book or making artwork.

As  a self employed multipotentialite, I juggle between freelance writing, social media marketing, making artwork, selling on Etsy, teaching, curating my website, blogging, producing newsletter, creating e-courses and many more ideas incubating in my head. I am no superwoman but I learn to focus on the present moment in whatever I do and be mindful. I am constantly brainstorming and mindmapping the gazillion things I want to do.  I like to list out my goals and when I merge them with my interests, I figure out what I need to focus on. Rather than being caught in a dilemma of either-or, I get to design my life to indulge in my quirky passions. Multipotentiality is for life and we don't have to do everything all at once. There are always new ideas, projects and interests coming as we crave every new learning opportunity to which we are addicted. It is okay to change gears as our energy and enthusiasm ebb and flow. Each action however small is worthy of celebration. There is no shortage of inspiration for scanners!