The Book I Wish I'd Never Read
When looking for an answer, and the answer is that there is no right one, it either results in reassurance or complete over-thinking. How To Be Everything frequently made the point that you don’t have to pick one thing. And yet, here I was trying to pick to be one thing – to be a multipotentialite – even if that one thing meant that I could be lots of different things.
How To Be Everything by Emilie Wapnick is a handbook designed for those that ‘don’t know what they want to be when they grow up’. It presents the concept of multipotentialism - the idea that some are born to be very good at very different things, rather than have one true calling. The book splits itself into three parts, exploring the concept itself, ‘The Four Multipotentialite Work Models’ and some ‘stumbling blocks’ people may find occur, with solutions attached to provide guidance. Throughout the book, the author paints the concepts with vivid examples of real people who have found success as multipotentialitites.
I picked up this yellow and black hardback, adding to my collection of books that I’d promised people I read, that I’d seen ads for, and that I’d bought with pennies from soon-expiring bookstore vouchers. Between collecting How To Be Everything from a friend, and writing this now, I’ve been continually flitting between strong resonation with the words on the pages of the book, and complete disregard for the truths and value those words hold.
On countless mornings I've taken my cup of tea back to bed, as is my morning routine, opened the cover, flicked to my bookmark and have become frustrated with the lack of application I could instil in the concepts of my own work, life and adventures. Only upon deeper reflection (prompted by writing such an article!) did I truly begin to understand this book. Which begs the question…
When difficult thought-challenging concepts arise, is there a right time to close the pages?
I’m a firm believer in the idea that putting yourself outside your comfort zone helps you grow, although I’m also a strong case for morning routines being of the utmost importance. Part of my own morning routine is reading 10-15 minutes of my current book. Aided by a cuppa, it helps me get in gear for the day, ticking off an achievement for the day already.
So when a book presents such tricky questions surrounding your identity, the best ‘work model’ for you to succeed in your work and life, and what you can do ‘when you grow up’, it starts the day with confusion and deep thinking – not what I intended for a light yet positive beginning.
I’d followed Emilie Wapnick on social media, but it was her TedTalk that intrigued me enough to read her book, so arguably I’d had enough exposure to her concepts that I should have vetted the book as something not to read when first waking up.
How To Be Everything is split into three parts and explores the concept of multipotentialities and how different approaches can help you when applied to different aspects of life. There’s also an element of helping you to understand what you want to be when you grow up. Now, that sort of life decision, whilst not an ultimatum, shouldn’t be pondered at 7:18am on a Tuesday – at least not for me.
Before I began Chapter 1, the concept of being a multipotentialite is something that resonated with me straight away; the idea of not having one true calling, one purpose, or being good at a single thing. I received the reassurance that my endless curiosity and interest in a multitude of things doesn’t mean that I’m broken, flaky or uncommitted. The first page let slip a huge secret: that you don’t have to pick one thing and yet, here I was trying to identify as a single descriptor– a multipotentialite.
Despite knowing (and repeatedly reading) that fact, I continued reading the next 9 chapters, trying to identify myself as one type of multipotentialite, pick one work model to mould my life around to achieve the success and happiness that was shown – by a multitude of examples of successful men and women – to be possible. This led to reflections on the identity crisis I’d experienced the previous summer.
Last year I decided to stop doing the sport of triathlon – a decision that sounds like the problem of a millennial with too many opportunities. After some counselling sessions and deep digging into my values, my enjoyment and my perceptions, I learnt that this hobby that took up 20 hours of the week directly (and so many more in headspace) was so much more than that. It was ingrained in my late childhood developmental years, so much so that it had become a way of life with triathlon at the centre, and all other factors around it like a sun.
Since then, I've worked hard to identify as Bronwyn, just Bronwyn – not giving myself a ‘the’ attached to my hobby, profession or otherwise. Now, reading this book, I was trying to identify as a multipotentialite in an attempt to explain and feel comfortable with the idea of not being a ‘one-trick pony’.
The confusion seeped into my day. Working in marketing and freelancing, you hear the advice to ‘niche down’ and ‘pick a niche’ a lot. I’m not here to argue either side of that debate but when told from one community that you should refine what you do so definitively that there’s no variation, and your morning read is telling the tales of successful multipotentialites explaining that you can, in fact, succeed by doing more than one thing… Well, that’s enough to set anyone’s brain spinning.
And therefore, whilst hundreds of Amazon buyers have undoubtedly benefited from these pages, rating the book a 4.5/5, I’d be inclined to rate it ‘I wish I never read it’. Upon reflection within these 900-or-so words, I realise that whilst the experience of reading this book was uncomfortable and triggering, I learnt that actually, it’s okay to close a book. It’s okay to finish halfway through. There’s no real prize for truly finishing every page. I’ll take the participants’ medal for this one, and settle on the fact that there’s a time and a place to read thought-challenging books…
And in bed with a cuppa at the start of my day, is not one of them.
Written by Bronwyn Tagg
Bronwyn Tagg is a Freelance Digital Marketer working in the sports industry. When she's not helping brands market with their social media, digital advertising or product campaigns, you can find her running or cycling... unless she's travelling - then you might struggle to find her! You can follow her on Instagram @bronwyntagg.
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