“The journey is not a straight line but a constellation in perpetual motion.”
Ikigai and the Multipotentialite: A Complex Relationship
Have you ever contemplated that seductive Venn diagram, with its four perfectly aligned circles, supposedly revealing the ultimate secret to professional fulfillment?
Ikigai – this Japanese concept of “reason for being” – has become unavoidable in any reflection on professional purpose. That perfect intersection between what you love, what you excel at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.
Enticing, isn’t it?
Yet, if you’re reading these lines, you probably feel what I experienced myself – an inner tension, a cognitive dissonance. As if this elegant model, rather than liberating you, was further confining you.
“For three years, I tried to fit my mind into this perfect diagram. Three years of inner struggle, wondering why I couldn’t find MY box, MY intersection, MY unique path.”
This obsessive quest for a unique Ikigai brought me nothing but anxiety and a sense of inadequacy. Not because Ikigai is a flawed concept, but because it was never designed for minds like yours and mine.
Minds that are multipotentialite.
What Does It Mean to Be a Multipotentialite?
Before exploring how to redefine our relationship with Ikigai, let’s clarify what being a multipotentialite really means.
A multipotentialite isn’t simply someone with “multiple interests.” It’s a person whose very essence lies in their ability to explore, learn, and deeply invest in multiple domains, often without hierarchy between them.
The revealing signs:
- You immerse yourself intensely in a new passion, before naturally pivoting to another
- Your mind spontaneously establishes connections between seemingly unrelated universes
- You quickly assimilate new skills, carried by genuine enthusiasm
- You dread the question “what do you do for a living?”
- You’ve often felt that your diversity of interests was a handicap in a world that values specialization
If you recognize yourself in this portrait, understand that your multipotentiality is not a flaw to correct. It’s your way of being in the world – your unique way of exploring, creating, and contributing.
Why Traditional Ikigai Becomes a Prison for Multipotentialites
Ikigai, in its common Western representation (the four circles), rests on three deeply problematic assumptions for multipotentialites:
1. The Myth of the Singular Passion
Traditional Ikigai presupposes the existence of ONE dominant passion, ONE main expertise, ONE specific need in the world that you address. For a multipotentialite, this reduction is a form of violence.
“Asking a multipotentialite to choose a single passion is like asking the ocean to form only one wave. Our beauty lies precisely in our perpetual movement.”
Our society has valued specialization since the industrial era, where standardization and repetition were the keys to efficiency. This model has shaped our educational institutions, our professional paths, and our representations of success.
But it’s just one model among others. Not a universal truth.
2. The Illusion of Perfect Coherence
Ikigai suggests a harmonious symmetry, a perfect intersection where everything aligns as if by magic.
The reality of a multipotentialite journey is quite different. It’s a dynamic constellation, not a perfect circle. It’s a diverse garden, not a monoculture, however beautiful it might be.
I’ve seen too many brilliant multipotentialites destroy themselves trying to create an artificial “narrative coherence” of their journey, to justify every turn, every exploration, every period of their life as a logical progression toward a predetermined goal.
Your path doesn’t need to be linear to be legitimate.
3. The Tyranny of Permanence
Ikigai presupposes stability over time, as if, once found, this magical intersection should define you forever.
For a multipotentialite, this fixity runs counter to our deep nature. We evolve through cycles of interest. What ignites you today might leave you indifferent in two years.
And that’s not inconstancy. It’s the natural manifestation of a mind in perpetual movement, one that feeds on novelty, learning, and discovery.
Rethinking Ikigai for Multipotentialites
Should we then abandon all quest for meaning and direction? Certainly not. But rather than contorting yourself to fit the model, let’s reinvent the model to honor your multipotentialite nature.
From Static Ikigai to Dynamic Ikigai
Imagine your Ikigai not as a fixed point to reach, but as a living ecosystem that evolves with you. In this ecosystem:
- Some passions are in the foreground at a given moment
- Others are in a phase of exploration, of germination
- Still others are temporarily fallow, but continue to nourish your inner soil
This ecosystem metaphor liberates you from the pressure of having to make everything fit into a single professional activity and allows you to embrace the cyclical nature of your interests.
“I stopped asking myself ‘what is my Ikigai?’ to ask instead ‘how can I create an ecosystem where my multiple Ikigai can coexist and nourish each other?'”
Discovering Your Common Thread
Beneath the apparent diversity of your passions often lies a recurring theme, an invisible but powerful common thread. This isn’t a specific field of activity, but rather an approach, a value, or an issue that deeply animates you.
Revealing Exercise: The Ariadne’s Thread
- List your 5-7 main passions or areas of expertise
- For each, note what specifically fascinates you
- Look for recurring patterns, underlying values
- Formulate your common thread in one sentence
My own journey seemed chaotic from the outside: scientific studies, cognitive psychology, entrepreneurship, development of organizational systems… But the common thread was obvious once revealed: “Understanding and optimizing human functioning through systems adapted to our natural cognition.”
This common thread doesn’t confine you – it guides you while leaving you free to explore.
Five Concrete Strategies to Transform Your Multiple Passions into a Fulfilling Career
1. Create Your Integrated Professional Ecosystem
Instead of searching for THE perfect job, build an ecosystem of complementary activities that, together, allow you to express your multiple facets.
The 60-30-10 approach:
- 60%: Your anchor – the main activity that ensures your stability
- 30%: Your satellites – secondary projects, related or complementary
- 10%: Your explorations – new passions in the learning phase
This structure offers you both security and freedom, stability and renewal.
Testimony: “For years, I alternated between my three passions – web development, writing, and psychology. I felt guilty for ‘dividing’ my attention. Today, I devote 60% of my time to development (my economic anchor), 30% to writing articles about technology (a satellite that feeds my anchor), and 10% to exploring psychology. This structure has freed me from the feeling of being torn apart.” – Thomas, 37
2. Embrace Creative Seasons
Rather than forcing yourself to do everything simultaneously, accept the cyclical nature of your passions. Like the seasons that follow one another, your centers of interest can evolve in a natural rhythm that honors your need for depth and renewal.
The cycle of creative seasons:
- Spring – Germination of a new passion, intensive learning
- Summer – Expression and creation, productive period in this field
- Autumn – Harvest and consolidation, sharing your acquisitions
- Winter – Rest and integration, preparation for the next cycle
By recognizing these natural cycles, you stop judging yourself for your “inconstancy” and begin to intentionally orchestrate your transitions.
3. Develop Your Hybrid Value Proposition
Your unique strength as a multipotentialite lies in your ability to create bridges between different domains. This unique combination of skills and perspectives constitutes your true competitive advantage.
To identify your hybrid value proposition:
- What are the unique intersections between your areas of expertise?
- What complex problems can you solve thanks to your multidimensional vision?
- What unique language can you create by merging your different universes?
My own journey allowed me to create a unique approach to productivity (Flowtasking) that integrates cognitive psychology, system design, and entrepreneurial experience – a combination that no specialist in a single domain could have conceived.
4. Adopt “Project Mode” Rather Than “Identity Mode”
One of the greatest sufferings of multipotentialites comes from the confusion between what we do and what we are. We too easily identify with our activities, which makes each transition painful.
By shifting from “identity mode” to “project mode,” you maintain a sense of inner continuity despite the diversity of your external expressions.
Concretely:
- Avoid defining yourself by a single title (“I am a designer”)
- Favor description by projects (“I’m currently working on…”)
- Maintain a coherent identity beyond your changing activities
“I am not my projects. I am the creative consciousness that initiates them, develops them, then transforms or abandons them when the time has come.”
5. Create Your Resonance Community
Multipotentialites often suffer from a sense of inadequacy in a world structured for specialists. The solution is not to isolate yourself, but to actively create your resonance community – people who understand and value your multidimensional nature.
To cultivate your tribe:
- Connect with other multipotentialites (groups, online communities)
- Openly share your non-linear journey
- Value your “complementarity allies” – those specialists who appreciate your transversal vision
External validation isn’t necessary, but having a circle that recognizes your unique value helps you stay the course in moments of doubt.
Three Inspiring Models for Living Your Multipotentiality
The Phoenix: Sequential Reinvention
The Phoenix model consists of completely immersing yourself in one field for a significant period (3-7 years), then reinventing yourself in a new field, carrying the essence of your previous experiences.
Example: “I was a professional dancer for 6 years, then a photographer for 5 years, and today I run a visual communication agency. Each ‘life’ brought me skills that I carried into the next, creating a unique journey despite its apparent ruptures.” – Michael, 42
This model suits multipotentialites who prefer depth and total immersion, but need periodic renewal.
The Orchestra: Harmonious Portfolio
The Orchestra model consists of simultaneously maintaining several complementary activities, like different instruments in a musical ensemble. Each activity has its place and its moment, together creating a coherent symphony.
Example: “I combine an architect practice (3 days/week), a teaching role (1 day/week) and an illustration activity (1 day/week + evenings). These three dimensions nourish each other and allow me to express different facets of my creativity.” – Claire, 36
This model suits multipotentialites who enjoy daily variety and can efficiently manage their transitions.
The Alchemist: Creative Fusion
The Alchemist model consists of creating a unique activity that organically merges your different passions into a singular proposition.
Example: “My passion for programming, psychology, and education led me to create an AI-assisted coaching platform that could never have existed if I had chosen only one of these fields.” – Samira, 31
This model suits entrepreneurial multipotentialites who wish to create their own niche at the intersection of their passions.
Beyond Ikigai: Towards a Philosophy of Abundance
The obsessive quest for the unique Ikigai reflects a philosophy of scarcity: as if there was only one place for you in this world, one valid contribution, one source of fulfillment.
What if we adopted a philosophy of abundance instead?
“Life is not a single-choice exam, but a continuous exploration. Each passion you follow, each skill you develop, each field you explore adds to the richness of your being and the uniqueness of your contribution.”
I personally stopped torturing myself with the question “what is my vocation?” to ask instead:
- How can I fully honor the complexity of my being?
- How can I orchestrate my multiple passions so they enrich each other?
- How can I transform my diversity into a unique contribution to the world?
These questions liberated me from the golden cage of traditional Ikigai to create my own model of fulfillment – a model that breathes, evolves, and enriches with time.
A Manifesto for Multipotentialites
Here is what I wish I had heard years ago, and what I offer you today as a compass for your own journey:
- Your diversity of interests is not a flaw to correct but a gift to cultivate
- You don’t have to justify your turns, your explorations, your cycles of interest
- Your value doesn’t lie in your ability to conform to a linear model, but in your courage to create your own path
- The world desperately needs connectors, bridges between disciplines, transversal thinkers
- Your journey doesn’t need to be understandable to everyone; it simply needs to resonate deeply within you
Frequently Asked Questions from Multipotentialites about Ikigai
How do I know if I should persevere in a path or explore a new field?
Perseverance is essential, even for multipotentialites. The key is to distinguish between:
- Superficial boredom (passing fatigue, temporary obstacle) which calls for perseverance
- Deep boredom (sensation of having completed your learning cycle) which signals it’s time to evolve
Ask yourself these questions:
- Am I still learning in this field?
- Do I still experience moments of flow?
- Is my intuition pushing me elsewhere out of fear or authentic calling?
How do I explain my atypical journey in a job interview?
Your non-linear journey can become your greatest asset if you know how to present it:
- Identify the common thread that gives coherence to your diversity
- Explain how your multipotentiality makes you particularly suited to the position
- Give concrete examples where your transversal perspective has created value
- Adapt your discourse to your interlocutor (some will value your adaptability, others your creativity)
How do I manage guilt when I feel it’s time to change?
The guilt of change is deeply anchored in multipotentialites, nourished by social expectations of coherence and permanence.
To transform it:
- Honor what you have accomplished and learned in each phase
- Recognize that your evolution enriches your contribution, it doesn’t diminish it
- Accept that some professional relationships are tied to a season of your life
- Create transition rituals to celebrate the passage from one phase to another
Is it really possible to earn a living as a multipotentialite?
Absolutely. Multipotentialites who thrive have generally adopted one of these approaches:
- Hybrid entrepreneurship: Creating a business that merges your different expertises
- Career portfolio: Combining several complementary professional activities
- Sequential specialization: Alternating phases of immersion in different fields
- Connector role: Positioning yourself as an intermediary between different sectors
The key is to transform your multipotentiality from an apparent weakness into a distinctive value proposition.
A Final Word: Beyond the Destination, the Journey
Traditional Ikigai fixes us on a unique destination – that perfect point of alignment where everything magically comes together.
What if the beauty of our multipotentialite journey lay precisely in the journey itself? In this perpetual dance between exploration and integration, between depth and breadth, between being and becoming?
As multipotentialites, we are not defined by a fixed point, but by the movement itself. By our capacity to marvel, to establish unprecedented connections, to see what others cannot perceive.
“The Ikigai of multipotentialites is not a point of arrival, but a perpetual dance. Not a destination, but a journey. Not a fixed state, but a continuous movement.”
So, dear mind with multiple facets, stop apologizing for your diversity. Fully embrace your kaleidoscopic nature. For the world has never needed your multidimensional vision more than today.
You are not broken. You are simply ahead of a world that is slowly learning the value of transversal thinking.
Ikigai is made for statues. You are made to dance.
This article was written by a multipotentialite convinced that our differences are our greatest strengths. To deepen your reflection on the fulfillment of multidimensional minds, join our community of mindful multipotentialites.
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