Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True Calling | Emilie Wapnick | TED 

"When I was 5 years-old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life."― John Lennon

I'm 34. I still have no idea what I wanna do with my life.

jack of many trades but master of none. story of my life

Finally, a TED talk directed to me. At age 57, I have finally narrowed my answer to the question of what I want to be when I grow up to three choices. Perhaps four. Definitely probably no more than ten.

"It is rarely a waste of time to pursue something that you're drawn into, even if you end up quitting. You might apply that knowledge to a different field entirely, in a way you couldn't have anticipated". Nicely said.

this made me cry. I thought I'm the only one.

"Know something about everything, and everything about something." Thomas Huxley

I wish I had watched this 8 yrs ago. A boring job is worse than death.

I'm 17 and I am trying a lot of things. I am writing my novel and at the same time practicing to draw traditionally and digitally. I am learning Korean and Japanese language and thinking about learning other languages. I like editing videos, playing guitar and thinking about learning other instruments. I may be still 17 but seeing this video makes me want to learn more. Thank you!

I had a sewing phase, speedcubing phase, competitive math phase, quantum physics , Tetris, piano, origami, programming, etc. SO many interests, and despite picking a major and sticking with it, I wish I could learn so much more. This is by far the most relatable thing I have come across in a very long time.

I have never identified so strongly with a TED talk... this is so amazing! My whole life I have struggled with what I want to be... and now I finally know that other people feel the same... and that its not bad. Best day ever.

This hit me so hard. This is exactly what I experience every day. Feeling lost and I don't finish projects and move on to the next.

Thank you from an architect/3D artist who also is a polyglot Italian teacher, amateur runner, and frustrated musician.

you saved my life haha, I am always interested in many things. I like learning language, computer science, philosophy, music, education and business. Some people told me you are always interested in different things, but your interests don't last long. that is a problem. I did not see that as a problem at all in the past time, and recently, i have been self teaching many things such as spanish, German and electronic music producing. And i started worry about my life. after seen this Ted talk, i am more sure that I was doing the right thing. And I will keep living my life :)

Combine that with procrastination and laziness tho, plus not actually getting to a point where you're good enough at stuff, and you have a recipe for disaster...

I'm in this club. We're jacks of all trades!

I am so glad I saw this TED talk. I am immediately showing this to my friend. Next time I see her, I am taking her phone and turning this on because she is definitely a multipotentialite and she still believes it to be a problem and I want her to see that it is not.

This is the most relatable thing I've ever watched.

It's crazy to me that this isn't talked about more in our culture. Especially considering that da Vinci was a perfect example of this and we regard him as one of the greatest figures in history.

I'm 70 and just realised I am a multipotentialite.

I can't remember where, but I once read that in some other countries (that aren't America), the question is "what are you doing right now?", rather than "what are you doing with your life?"

Mom: So what is your major gunna be this month? Me: Don't patronize me! I'm a multipotentialite!

this couldnt have come at a better time in my life

I am tearing up watching this because I've always been ashamed of not being able to focus on one thing.

I actually cried while watching this. I never felt like I had a purpose because I thought I couldn't serve any if I was always constantly changing my muse. This reminded me of all the potential I hold, I just forgot it was there. MULTIPOTENTIALITES UNITE WHOOP WHOOP

this is so fucking relatable..... look up this term multipotentialism. It is where one person don't have just one calling. they cannot give up this hobby to pursue another...they have to do several at one time.

Everyone in Human Resources of all companies should watch this. They are the ones who can make you feel terrible about being a multipotentialite

I am so happy to watch this. Not for me... but for a friend who is always feeling depressed of having this quality, who is always trying to make himself a specialist while he must be trying to embrace his multipotentialite wiring.

I'm still in high school but I love painting, writing, marketing, business, travelling, video editing, graphic design, social work, social sciences, and journaling! But I also wanted to have a relatively high paying job. I had been limiting myself so I go into one career but this ted talk showed me that I can do much more!

I cried watching this. All those cute "what do you wanna be" questions turning into pressure and even anger from parents/teachers/adult figures because I just can NOT focus on one thing part, that ate me up inside until at the age of 25 I finally accepted this is just who I am... is so true. And yeah, I have ADHD too, and has been diagnosed by a psych.

I'm an introverted multipotentiolite, I've been pressured to be more outgoing and specialised. I'm glad I have authority issues and have a rebelious non-conformist side otherwise I would have caved in to all the pressure society puts on minorities like me a long time ago.

“Can't I fly helicopters AND be an oceanographer who writes songs and cooks?” - ENFP here :)

See I don't think I fit that label... I'm interested in many things, but that doesn't mean I'm a master at too many of them. I've just always loathed the narrowly-focused life mentality and I have never been able to see myself devoting to one thing for the rest of my life. I find it a terribly depressing goal... But what this speaker is promoting is no easy life. Having a degree in one thing and actual experience in a few others, I can say from experience it's awfully hard to market yourself. The job market is just not set up for that.

I just realized that i'm a "DIVERGENT". Sounds cool right!!!

This will be my favorite Ted Talk forever. I thought I‘m the only one like this. So sad that I found this talk only in 2022, but I guess it‘s because I‘ve never tried to look for videos that would support my „behavior“ and only looked for „inspirational ted talks“ that would tell me how to finally focus on one thing and become the version that society wants me to be. I feel more understood, valued and empowered now after watching this. ❤️

Never thought there a word to who I am - I've always wanted to be many things than just one thing. Learnt a lot in this video - I will definitely note the three superpowers in my CV :)

I am a private physics tutor / teacher and a music composer for media. I make a good living from these these 2 activities I love. Once, I found an amazing intersection: Bass traps. In the studio, corners of the room can reflect bass and enter resonances that distort the sound coming out of the speakers. I am fond of astrophysics/cosmology too, so after reading a book from a famous scientist about primordial density waves from which we could determine the shape of our universe, I wrote to the author about bass traps, and how lowest frequency could resonate and alter our perception of the real signal. I got quite an enthusiastic response from the researcher! Maybe he integrated this idea in his future research ? :-)

Society depends on stability and security. There are responsibilities that need attention on an everyday basis. People that are defined by one thing or master one task are perceived as stable and reliable. These people have the make-up to stick to one thing one thing only. You need people like that. Society needed mastery to define and diversify. Multipotentialites are the anomaly or the "divergents" We are misunderstood and therefore unappreciated. We're forced to compromise or keep rolling without recognition. And because of this society has had no purpose for us. The truth is we are feared. We are a new breed of minds. We see many angles and speak many languages, and have the ability to build many connections. We are the weavers of the future.

This is the most relatable thing I have ever seen. I am a college student intensely struggling on finding my "passion." Everyone I know has already established themselves into a major/field, while I am bouncing around to different ones all the time, trying but not being satisfied. Always work so hard, but I cant commit to one thing. I feel a little more normal now, thank you for this talk

All my life I've had a multiple of interests, in considered myself a sprinter instead of a long distance runner, so I became a 21 time author, 6 time world record holder, event planner, comic, radio host, tv host, adventurer, and speaker. I also designed jewlery, and decorated houses. I love my life, and I tried to figure out ways to make money at all the things I do/did. People would say, Focus on one thing...focus, focus focues, but I like focusing in short spurts, that brought me my true happiness. Love this talk.

It feels great knowing that others feel the same way I do. Not having that one niche that I can do, like others, made me feel like: I can't stick to my goals, that i'm a flip-flopper, I'm not strong willed, there's something wrong with me, I felt like a loser, I even thought perhaps I had a learning disability that makes it impossible to stick out a goal, I felt all these things because I could never stick to one thing and make a go at it. Its eye opening that all my interests in my hope chest were not a waste of time. I now know the time was well spent and I'm better off than most because I am a Multipotentialite!

great talk! I have many dreams about where my career would take me, but often people around me get confused and just want you to give a straightforward answer as to where you want to be. no one seems to appreciate or understand that one can have many slashes in their title. life is too short to just focus on one subject. why did we take up so many classes and exams when we were young in school, yet given one specific field you would want to get into?

This video has made me feel so much better about life. I completely relate to every thing she has described, I was always so worried that I was flaky and lazy. We just need to find a way of making this work in today's world.

I feel emotional after watching this. For ages, I felt like I needed to narrow my hobbies down. Turns out, I'm doing exactly what I need to do. Brilliant speech. This is definitely helping us out here in the world, especially me :) Thank you x

Not gonna lie.. I almost cried. Felt so seen, understood and accepted 💜 never knew this was a thing and I am glad I came across this video

That's exactly how I am, but I always thought this is a flaw, because I see my friends go on specific paths and get a job and start making money, while I haven't figured out what should I go for and dedicate my time to become really good.

I love this video omg I'm a junior in highschool and honestly. I don't wanna be Just One Thing I have many interests and excel in many subjects so whenever I am asked what I want to be I say various answers like "dentist, or I wanna own a flower shop, or I wanna be an animator/scenography, or a cosmetologist, maybe a social worker?......what about writing articles or being a US air Marshall?? Maybe even a pilot or a special effects makeup artist.......maybe I'll be an astrophysicist" I've never been attracted to one thing and i still have NO idea what I wanna be or how I can combine any of these things.......I thought something was wrong with me because I lacked the passion that my peers had over their dream-careers.....turns out I'm just the exact opposite

im 18 and my dad just had a conversation with me about how i can never stick to one thing and i have a million things i wanna do , yoh this year has been stressful cause i find everything interesting and i feel like id do well with whichever one . this Talk helped its good to know im not alone

🙋 _Same Here,_ *I DON'T HAVE HOBBY, I HAVE HOBBIES.*

always remember this, leonardo de vinci was not only a painter, he was: an engineer, scientist, philosopher, musician, anatomist, architect, sculptor, writer...

I specialize in being a multipotentialite! :D …Wait…

Oh .. I was so confused about myself for years .. I thought there was something wrong with me .. .!! this is very liberating.. thanks .. so glad I found this video.. ✌🏻️👍👏🙏

the truth is out there!

"A Multipotentialite is someone with many interests and creative pursuits."

I knew, after hearing about Renaissance men in 6th grade, that it was what I wanted to become, a Renaissance woman. Back then I didn't know I was already wired that way. I'm glad to know that I am not alone.

cried watching this

doctor of medicine, martial artist, photographer, painter (charcoal), video editor, MMA promoter, table tennis player, basketball player, diver, entrepreneur, volunteer, bassist, pianist, back up singer, biologist, web designer, graphic artist, guest preacher .... still looking at which i can really focused with, specialize and do my very best...thanks for the video.. very liberating

I am a... MULTIPOTENTIALITE.

Neurodiversity term is omnipotent, I'm convinced that there's a link. ADD and ADHD people are exactly like this, we see everything in a complex and creative way and this is why it's hard to settle

I returned to college at the age of 58. I'd become bored with my business. I love my new direction. It seems like all the things I've learned over the years are starting to synthesize. People told me I was a late bloomer. Maybe I'm finally blooming? ... At least until this field bores me...

great!! now i can be a music producer and a body trainer

This woman is reading the diary of my soul!

I feel like this talk has really changed my life x

Hi Emily, A big hug and love you for this talk. I am 42 yrs old and I studied to be a Dental surgeon even did my post graduate degree in oral pathology and microbiology but after 3 yrs as a Assistant professor. I ventured out to be an entrepreneur and still I run my 2 business but in the past 5 years I have also become a story teller , a traveller, a teacher of special education needs and more .Now I know how to introduce myself to someone a “ multipotentialite” . Thanks to you

that was a great speach. but i think I'm not the only one who think she is about to cry .

In the other hand we have people specialized to the point of complete ignorance

Okay.. Now, what about people who arent interested in anything ? :")

ive wanted to be a astrobiologist, neurosurgeon, screenwriter, psychiatrist, environmental activist, photographer, writer. ive changed my major many 5 times within my freshman year of college. my friends always just think im ridiculously indecisive and im just going to fall behind. ive always thought i could combine my love for medicine, art, and the environment in my life time, i just never knew that it was okay to. this talk has changed my life, thank you.

This video describes a person who lives with ADHD as well.

One thing scares me: Boredom. Im scared of any job which from the beginning I can see from far the Boredom. I want and need to learn something new just for the sake of learning, i dont necessary want to practice it in life, for example: Psychology, Neuroscience, Neurology, Human ressources and many more. Thank you Emily for your speech, it made for us: " There is nothing wrong with Us"

I kept shouting about my AD(H)D throughout the video!

I was struggling for so many years thinking that I’m just a failure person, tying myself in a knot so tight that hearing that… I just bursted into tears

I’m a: Screenwriter Business analyst Front end developer Director Product specialist Insurance agent High school drama teacher I was a dual major in theatre and engineering. This video is my jam!

Finally! i have found my clan! i thought there was something wrong with me.. in my 40's but doing so many projects and getting overwhelmed but loving it nonetheless...- 3d animation, 2d animation and coding, fashion illustration, content creation, virtual assistant, project management, writing 4 different novels simultaneously, (half completed), digital marketing, businesss development.....

Thanks a lot Emilie, I just broke crying in front of my screen.

Good talk! I also think a lot of us, in addition to our superhuman abilities, we tend to be philosophical and conscious. Which leads to a will for authenticity. We are not particularly interested in bargaining away our self-development by locking in to a narrow path that produces optimal incomes even where we would excel. That risks limiting our inner journeys.

What if you know EXACTLY what you want to do but can't do it? Me for example... I want to stay home and take care of my house and kids. I LOVE keeping a home, doing the chores, grocery shopping, cooking and making sure my kids are taken care of. But I can't because my husband doesn't make enough and never will. And before someone mentions "babysitting" I have zero desire to watch other people's kids. So what am I to do when I know what I want but can't do it? :(

Thank God my stress has been reduced. I've always struggled with having to explain myself to others who just didn't understand. I'm very grateful for this TED talk

Being ADHD helps LOL

That's me ✋🏻. I am part of the ones who realized being one in the last 12 minutes😅. Thanks a lot. I am 28 , private teacher of 4 different subjects. I studied Biology, Ecology, Geology, English, Japanese, cultural tourism at college and now I am into naturopathic medecine, ayurveda, plant based medicine and nutrition and even alternative education. As a kid I first wanted to become and astronaut, then a scientist who studied fauna and flora in the middle of the rainforest, and then a mangaka as I was passionated by Japan and draw well. Now I want to work in holistic and natural healthcare but I am still not sure which one which way where...and I am hesitating to choose the right curriculum for this way...if any 'right' one does even exist... This is how I am and I am quite proud of it. But society makes you shame on your personnality seing it as a problem, even a psychosocial condition sometimes. Parents, relatives would either worry or be fed up with you and your constantly changing life. Friends would see you as a lost person . And at the end, seeing others of the same age of you or even younger , who have made up their choices of studies, job, partner, place to live, would make you feel you are a loser as well. This is this comparison with others which make us worry about our personality. But truely we can't be others. This is our personality. Into my heart, I have always thought it was rather a quality than a drawback to have multiple interests and multiple skills. As you explained, in the past, from the Renaissance to nineteenth century, well known characters were scientists, philosophers, artists... I am convinced that True knowledge is transdisciplinary. To me, Hyperspecialization is one the thing which made modern society's intelligence to decline. Change in society has to come from the edges.

Same here, INFP We eventually figure ourselves out in the end even though the road is long and hard at the beginning. We are the true Jack of all Trades. I'm 34 years old and I just figured out what I want to do in life. :) stay strong!

I could've used this 15 years ago!

I do something similar. Nearly all the things that I am interested in I would not want to do as a career. For example, I wanted to be an astronomer at some point but the more I researched into what they do on a daily basis and what those jobs involve, I realised that I just like learning interesting facts about space and stargazing. I have no idea about what I want to do because I don't know anything that I would enjoy doing as a career. I don't even know what my favourite subject is in school.

This! Right now I want to be a game artist (doing that), ecologist and psychotherapist. And been a photographer, RU-vidr, game developer & other things before. Eventually I want to fund a company or go back to freelance so I have a bigger variety in what I do! Def. rings true that there's a lot of skills that can be transferred across disciplines - especially for the creative industry.

As an INFP, who wanted to be immortal and shark and tuna when I was 10, I can deeply relate to this topic.

This sounds so INTP to me. xD Anyway, great video and a really valuable lesson! :)

I was asking God what do you want for me to do? I have so many things that i like, when I decided to quit one of them I felt frustrated, thanks a lot for being Gods answer to my life You really help meGod bless you

I feel so understood. I thought something was wrong with me because society puts such an emphasis on stability. Thank you for this talk.

I learned to roller skate and really tried my best with it, then I got bored and wanted to do another thing, I thought: was that a waste? But it wasn't, because I had so much fun moments and days and made friendships, when I started doing Yoga I noticed my balance was good because of roller skates and it was an advantage, now I wanna start surfing and balance will be an advantage there too, it doesn't seem, but many things are connected, thank you for this amazing and veeery inspiring Ted Talk, it really opened my mind to think out of the box AND have a different outlook on everything.

Leonardo da Vinci. Kanye West. TD Jakes. Michael Jordan. Elon Musk. I find that the best leaders know a little bit about many things. We're really made to feel bad about not being masters of one thing... instead of celebrating that we're jacks of all trades.

It was really surprising to find out you *have* to be one thing according to culture.

Yes, I can totally relate to this. I feel that no matter what culture we are part of you have to be able to create some value for the other. It is essential to your own survival. Even if we are part of a tribal community you might have to get good at a few things to really be of value to the community. I thought it was a problem with capitalism where our skills need to have market value, but if we look at it from any place, in order to create and draw a sustainable or growing amount of value, one undoubtedly has to pick a few things to do for a while. I thought I will find answers with the term like multi-disciplinary design popping up. Everyone said it will be a great skill, but nobody cares enough when it comes down to the real mechanisms of hiring and billing human hours. What capitalism has done wrong is that it has created an artificial reward mechanism, forcing us to choose and stick to one thing for a long time or as early as possible. If not, like me and many artists we have to suffer many hardships. Some people with the right environment, guidance and effort can find a system of things to do. Most give up a lot of these interests and skills making them smaller hobbies. It takes a lot of effort to explain and present your multiplicity these days when nobody has the time and expects very clear simple ways of defining and communicating your skills. I sometimes wish I had heard this earlier, but also been educated about how modern employment really works. People from around my age who have stuck to one area is economically reaping a lot more than me, they put in a lot less effort to balance life the way they want to but perhaps ending up doing only a few things to enjoy and appreciate the multiplicities of human life. If you have had a similar struggle but found solutions, it would be awesome to discuss this further.

How about if you don't have any particular interests at all or are not certain about it then what do you do?

Woah this is totally relatable to me because i grew up wanting to be a lawyer, a comic artist, a writer, a musician. Later, I wanted to be a dancer, a biologist, an archaeologist, and even took interest in politics. Coming from an Asian family my parents often pressurize me with that same irritable question "What you want to be in life?" and I could not give a specific reply because my interests are too broad for me to only focus on one profession throughout my entire lifetime. This is really motivational and it reminded me that I shouldn't force myself into a single profession just to "fit in" with the societal norm (:

I give this a standing freaking ovation. That is the one question that has always given me grief and anxiety and wowowowow The fact that every word was describing me, that it is who I am, and that I don’t need to change, was tremendously inspiring.

oh man, almost cried at the end 😢

As a high school senior who has been overwhelmed with the obligation to pick a career and begin deciding my major, this resignated deeply. I’m interested in so many things (starting a business, writing a book, traveling the world, art, acting, learning languages, etc.) and it’s relieving to know that I am not alone and there’s a solution. Thank you so much, Emilie!

I loved this talk! Thank you so much, Emilie. Whenever someone asks me, "What do you do?" I include all of my hobbies and also how I make most of my income (which is not the profession I define myself by). I know many probably think I am going nowhere with what I do but I LOVE my life and am so happy! That's what counts.

This right here is my entire life. I’ve been pre-med, casting director, salesperson, sales manager, entrepreneur, model, actor, producer, licensed in tax, real estate, insurance, mortgage. I’ve tried it all. And it’s just so debilitating to start over and over again, then get bored. I think it’s ADD honestly.

This is totally me!!! I have too many interests. A curious mind! Thanks for this talk!