Multipotentialism and the Kaleidoscope World of Scanners

Growing up, I had varied interests. Like all little girls, at one stage in my life, I wanted to be a ballerina, gliding and pirouetting to Tchaikovsky’s nutcracker. Way before I thought of becoming a medical doctor, I wanted to be the lead at Broadway musicals. I remember watching Moulin Rouge and Smash as an adolescent and imagining myself as the star of the moment. I always thought I would focus on one passion when I was much older. That I would finally streamline and become monogamous regarding my professional choices.

I was wrong.

High school saw me wanting to be a doctor. However, I also courted a serious affection for literature and languages. I knew I could not do everything at the same time at the university. I knew I had to settle. The way I saw it I could always write and learn languages outside the ivy halls. The rational option was obvious at that point.

I took my UTME* with Medicine (MBBS) boldly written on my form. (Un)fortunately, man proposes, and JAMB* disposes and that was how I finally had to settle for biochemistry. In university, I dabbled a little in music and learned how to play musical instruments. Post-graduation, I fed my love for psychology and philosophy.

I recently put a name on this continuous quest for novelty knowledge-wise: Multipotentialism

I am a multipotentialite or a scanner, according to the author and motivational speaker, Barbara Sher. We are also called polymaths or generalists. Our interests are so varied it is hard to pin us down. As born learners, we live for the challenge that comes with discovering and learning new things.

And boy, do we learn fast!’

That unveiling of previously unknown ideas excites us- and when that concept is as familiar as the lines on our palms, we look for something else to learn. This is the blessing- and the curse- of multipotentialism.

Multipotentialism is wonderful. Like streams emptying into the sea, your different interests color your life and projects and give them a richness that most people only dream about…