There is this TED talk that describes me to a “T”. I remember the day clearly. I was in my raspberry garden (picture pruning overgrown out-of-control shoots). I had random podcasts in my playlist when the podcast, Why some of us don’t have one true calling on mulitpotentialites came on. Emilee Wapnick defines a multipotentialite as someone with many interests, many jobs over a lifetime, and many interlocking potentials. I dropped what I was doing and was shocked how somebody else could describe me so clearly. It was an ah-hah moment I will never forget. When asked what I want to be when I grow up, I never could pinpoint it. The better question was/is (see, I still don’t feel like I’m grown up), “what don’t you want to be when you grow up?” That is how I roll. I love to learn, try new things, have fun experiences, and go on adventures. I also like order and structure and cleanliness…the internal battle is real people! So when someone I didn’t know said it was okay to live a life of multiple interests, jobs, careers, and that is what makes us unique and a benefit to the workplace, it gave me hope. I could totally relate. Up to this point, I wondered why I couldn’t just stick with one thing or why I had so many interests. Over the years, I have worked for an airline (travel benefits!), taught yoga, worked as a planner for Meetings Northwest (I currently edit), was accepted to medical school, substitute taught in grades K-12, am a mom of four, and recently became a Wilderness EMT. See what I mean? Through all this though, there has been a few constants – my love for science, the outdoors, learning new things, my family, and yoga.
How does this relate to yoga? Well, yoga is about embracing who you are, accepting where you’re at, and non-competition even with yourself. And how does yoga relate to the workplace? Even though yoga is an ancient practice with a somewhat recent popular trend in western society, some of you might ask, what is yoga? The Yoga Alliance is a great source to enhance your understanding, but in a paragraph, they describe it as:
“Yoga was developed up to 5,000 years ago in India as a comprehensive system for wellbeing on all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. While Yoga is often equated with Hatha Yoga, the well-known system of postures and breathing techniques, Hatha Yoga is only a part of the overall discipline of Yoga. Today, many millions of people use various aspects of Yoga to help raise their quality of life in such diverse areas as fitness, stress relief, wellness, vitality, mental clarity, healing, peace of mind and spiritual growth.”
I have been practicing yoga for almost a solid 20 years and have taught Hatha Yoga for about 8 of those years. I love yoga. As described above, it encompasses the essence of existence. I’m also a spiritual and religious person, so yoga fits nicely into my way of life. The hang up I had on having to choose just one career or job or focus drove me crazy. I didn’t practice self-acceptance of the fact that I didn’t fit one molded job title.
Earnest Shackleton once said, “Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all.” I recently listened to a talk on CD with my kids while on a road trip and I was fascinated by the idea of being an unconquerable spirit. Hank Smith, the speaker, shared the story of Earnest Shackleton’s quest to cross Antarctica from sea to sea. It’s an unbelievable story that I don’t have the space to tell, but disaster struck – all did live, miraculously. When later asked about his failure to reach the South Pole, he said, “You are right, sir, we failed.” He knew others would attempt to cross from sea to sea and said he would try again if they failed. “Because I believe it is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown. The only true failure…would be not to explore at all.” And so it is with our lives and my life. If you try one career path and it doesn’t fit, failure would be staying or not chasing the “what if’s” of your life. Explore away!
While on this life journey, keep perspective in mind – small picture, big picture. The meditative side of yoga has really helped me focus on the things that matter most. I recently was at a conference where a man named Wilford Andersen spoke. He spoke of the rules of perspective that he learned as a 14 year-old boy in art class. He said, “In order to have balance, you have to understand the rules of perspective.” Mr. Andersen related that when you paint a scene on a canvas, you paint things that are supposed to be in the distance small and things that are to appear closest big. Here are the three rules of perspective he gave to the best of my note-taking skills that day. 1 – People are always more important than things. Paint “things” small in your life. 2 – Things which last a long time are more important than things that last a little while. 3 – Mistakes in our lives left unattended grow; corrections to these bring beauty and balance. In the grand scheme of your workday or project, is what you are stressing over a small thing or a big thing? Sometimes the solution lies in looking through the big picture lens. It’s so easy to get caught up in the small picture kind of things in life. When you find yourself overwhelmed, revisit the perspective analogy.
This next idea isn’t new. If you want to see a change, do something different. How profound is that? So many of us want things to turn out differently or expect to see a change, but don’t change the way we do something. If something in your job isn’t going the way you want it, or you are stuck in a project, or you keep seeing the same results, do something different. If you aren’t accomplishing your goals, reassess, make a change and do something different. Genevieve from our company wrote a really great blog on intentionally planning your life. Change is hard, it has to be intentional. Here’s a funny/not funny example from my life of a small change having a big effect. My husband can’t wake up in the mornings. It’s been a big thorn in my side. He’s always argued that he’s always been this way. Over the years, I have suggested cutting back his caffeine intake and he would argue caffeine doesn’t affect him. I also have suggested doing a sleep study to assess the quality of his sleep during the night. Recently he has agreed to getting help/looking into/considering a sleep study. However, in the meantime, completely unrelated to his sleep issue, he wanted me to join him in eating healthier. We decided to give up sugar, not natural occurring sugars, but food that has added sugars. And guess what, he’s been sleeping better and waking up on his own well-rested. Coincidence to the caffeine intake? I think not. See, I found out he has been cheating on his sugar intake. He admitted to having a soda at lunch and rationalized that as okay because he hasn’t been getting one on his way home from work. Shocked to find out this wasn’t just a once in a while thing, but an everyday thing, it was pretty easy to connect the dots. One little change in the timing of his caffeine intake and the difference in his sleep has been huge. A lot of people talk the talk when it comes to change, explaining why many don’t see different results. Change is hard. Breaking old habits, stepping out of your comfort zone, changing your routines is something only you can do. When it comes to changing yourself, you have to want it. No amount of outside help will make a difference. In Yoga: A Technology for Happiness by Nayaswami Gyandev McCord, said “Most people seek happiness in the form of pleasant life circumstances. Sometimes they find it, but unfortunately it never lasts, because circumstances inevitably change…..Yoga, on the other hand, offers a route to happiness that doesn’t depend on circumstances. It helps us connect with the happiness that is our natural state, untouched by outward circumstances. Yoga’s approach is scientific, not religious, for its criterion for validity is experience rather than belief. It says: “Here are tools to perform an experiment. Only after you’ve tried it will you truly know.”” Sometimes we choose change and sometimes change chooses us.
While I still love yoga, its philosophy and practice, I don’t care if I am teaching it or practicing yoga every day. Maybe I have a “been there, done that” personality. But I try to implement the things yoga has taught me into my daily life. Be present. Roll with the punches. Make changes. Keep everything in perspective. Accept who you are. If you don’t fit one mold, maybe you’re a multipotentialite like me. As Emilie Wapnick said in her TEDx Talk, “It is rarely a waste of time to pursue something you’re drawn to even if you end up quitting. You might apply that knowledge in a different field entirely in a way that you couldn’t have anticipated…..Embrace your inner wiring whatever that may be…..[it] leads to a happier, more authentic life.”
About the Author:
Growing up in Arizona at 7,000 feet elevation, Nicole Post has always been most at home in the mountains with their seasons and outdoor adventures. Home was the main lodge of a 14-cabin property that her family owned and ran as a family business. It was there she learned how to work hard and gained people skills, all while having the outdoors as her playground. College took her to the University of Arizona in Tucson where she completed her degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. During those four years, she eventually found the beauty of the desert, but couldn’t wait to escape the heat and the city. Life took Nicole and her husband to Missoula to look at the University of Montana and on the first step off the plane, she knew this was the place. It was love. In August 2003, one U-Haul, one truck, one horse, and two little boys drove into the five-valleys area known as Missoula to embark on a new adventure. 15 years and two more kids later, she still calls the Bitterroot Valley home (just south of Missoula). In her spare time if it exists, she likes to hike, cross country ski, snowboard, read, practice yoga, run, quilt and try new things. Nicole has played a few different roles at Meetings Northwest since joining the staff in 2008. As an event planner, she is creative, efficient and responsive. As our copy editor, she makes us and our clients sound concise, intelligent and interesting. Nicole’s attention to detail and remarkable dissection of words always shines our clients in the perfect light!
