Think you have to pick one thing? Try this instead.

Brilliant People

Some of the most brilliant people I know have at least five talents. They are great at more than one thing. They love more than one thing. Most importantly: they want to do more than one thing. You know why they don’t?

They think they can’t.

They think they need to have one purpose, one destiny, one dharma. And they take this to mean that they have to choose one job, career, creative outlet and make that their one thing.

Stuck People

And this feels so miserable, so limiting, so much like living in a box instead of the infinite cosmos, that they end up doing nothing. “I can’t decide on one thing, I don’t want to choose one thing, and so I’ll just do this thing I don’t really love.” I love words like

purpose, destiny, dharma.

How gorgeous, how shiny, how juicy. But all of this talk about finding out our one purpose, living our destiny and fulfilling our dharma can actually prevent us from doing that. Because we interpret this to mean we have to pick one thing. One job, career or creative outlet. Which is baloney.

Existing in Perpetual Creative Response

Martha Beck, who I’m a big fan of, says this “I exist in perpetual creative response to what is.”

Our purpose is not our job. It’s not our career. Our creative outlet. Our business.

Yes, our core being can absolutely be unleashed through what we do. But it can be unleashed through lots of things. Different jobs. Different creative outlets. Different aspects of our business. And, it can change over time. It can grow.

Being You

There is a growing movement away from all of this talk of finding one purpose, destiny and dharma.

And towards the radical, simple idea that your purpose is to be yourself.

Find people who are doing many things. And rocking it. Let them be your living proof. Embrace your multiple potentials and passions. And then, become your own living proof. Love Lindsey (writer, presenter, entrepreneurial women coach, leadership coach, corporate coaching program leader, mindfulness fanatic, author of the forthcoming book From Darkness to Light, wife, best friend, sister, daughter, grown ass woman)