While we have talked about a few of the benefits of being a multipotentialite, we also must talk about the downfalls and challenges. One of the hardest things about being a multipotentialite is boredom. Whenever a new interest comes along multipotentialites tend to have the personality trait to jump headfirst into the project. This type of creativity burst and excitement is really fun for awhile. However, it can easily lead to burnout.
One theory I have heard from multipotentialites is that we jump onto a creative project, we learn what we needed to learn from it, and that's when we hit the boredom plateau. Another common theory is that when the challenge starts to dwindle down and we get better at whatever it is we are trying to pursue, the task becomes too easy for us and we go off looking for the next challenge. There are countless other theories as to why boredom occurs when it does. The main point is that boredom is even more common in multipotentialites, and in order to keep from hitting slumps all of the time, we have to prepare ourselves.
Personally, I like to at any given point have at least three passion projects going on at the same time. This way if I am working so hard on one of them that I get bored, I can always switch off to a different project for a little bit and come back to the other one feeling fresh and inspired. That is my favorite way to do my work because it keeps everything new and exciting. However, my way of keeping from boredom is very different than some others, because of our different personality types. For example, there is a type of multipotentialite that really likes to focus in on one project at a time and carry it to completion before working on anything else. This is one way that boredom can easily set in.
A way to prevent burnout on a long or single-focus project is to pace yourself. You might have to force yourself to quit working and get away from the project completely every few hours. While initially you might be really excited and inspired, the more we stay around our project the more it becomes normalized in our day to day, so switching it up and getting away can really bring a new take to a project and bring it up to the next level creatively.
On the other hand, we as multipotentialites can turn our boredom into our biggest strength. When a project gets monotonous and stale, or completed depending on the case, we get to move onto something bigger and better, taking our past knowledge into the next project as I talked about in my being a beginner post. Boredom can inspire us to think outside of the box for our next big idea, and to move forward with it quickly so we don't have to spend too much longer on our previous idea.
Another way to use your boredom is to really take the time to examine inwardly and figure out how your body is reacting to your boredom, figure out how slow or fast your thoughts have been, and if possible try to figure out when the slump first started, so that it can be detected earlier on in the future.
Boredom and slumps are a part of everyone's life. Multipotentialite or not, they happen. It is important to learn and do what you can to prevent and detect them early on, so that they don't develop into a larger issue. It's important to be gentle with yourself in any undertaking so that you can be sensitive to your needs in the situation. Be sure to take the time to ask friends, family, or even a therapist to help get you through a rough patch no matter how minor, so you can quickly get back to you, and back to being innovative, inspired, motivated, and happy.
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