A Gifted Multipotentialite* in Chile

Daniela is 36. She is a writer, designer, artist, communicator, entrepreneur, journalist, radio broadcaster, mother, and Instagram rising star. An “introvert bookworm” as a child, she would spend hours in her school library, writing poems and stories and loving painting, acting, singing, guitar, beauty, and the freedom to create.

Daniela had a sweet and supported childhood. But once she became an adult, her struggles began. She explained, “I felt alone, weird, incapable, dumb, frustrated, and most of all, broken…Everything I did, I was good at, but every time I decided to quit and start something new, I would feel (and hear) those threatening eyes around me saying things like ‘You are studying AGAIN?’ ‘Why can’t you commit?’ I would start a new thing, I was good at it, and a couple of years later, I felt like I needed a new challenge…”

Daniela studied journalism, radio/voice over acting, and design in school. She had many careers over the years. Some of them, in no particular order: She started a business baking cupcakes for events. Was employed as an online editor for a large art and interior design blog and marketplace. She made knot cushions by hand to sell in stores. Sold clothes purchased abroad.

A large department store invited her to design an accessory line for them. She started practicing hand lettering and taught water color lettering through a craft store. She worked in radio.

Family members wanted her to focus. Therapists told her she needed to pick one job and stick with it. Teachers told her she was daydreaming too much; perhaps she had ADD. So, Daniela felt the joy she experienced in doing so many different things must be terribly wrong.

About two years ago, she found *Emilie Wapnick’s work which gave her an identity (rather than a pathology) as a multipotentialite. This information was life changing.

A year ago she launched her website where she teaches lettering/ calligraphy courses and sells her products. She was asked to speak at an online event about women entrepreneurs and chose the topic–what else–multipotentiality. And now she is writing a book about it.

Which is how she found me. “I read about your rainforest mind definition and you were really speaking directly to me!”

Now, Daniela knows she has a rainforest mind. Now, she knows her multipotentiality is only one aspect of an even more complex personhood. She is a fast deep-thinking learner. Divergent, creative problem solver. She is highly sensitive, empathetic, and intuitive. Emotional. Curious. Analytical. Questioning. Passionate about life, literature, and making a difference for others.

With this new information about her rainforest mind, Daniela realizes she can step into her whole, intense, imaginative self with confidence. She can allow herself to find her joy again and know her joy is not wrong.

In fact, it is very, very right.

(Note: Another excellent resource for all of you RFMs cavorting around your multiple career paths is Marci Alboher’s One Person/Multiple Careers. And if you are wanting some guidance as you head into mid-life and beyond, check out The Encore Career Handbook, also by Alboher.)

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To my dear bloggEEs: I wish there was a way we could all gather in person and just cry together in love and relief. Life is so upsettingly craaazy these days, no matter where you are in the world. I hope you are deepening your connection to your self-compassion and your tender hearts, and you are finding solace, spirituality, and creative ideas via your deep inner knowing and your connections to Source or Guidance or Nature or Universal Love or Evolutionary Consciousness, or God or Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. Oh, and, let us know in the comments about your experiences with your multipotentiality and multiple careers. Thank you for being here. Much love to you. And thank you so much to Daniela for sharing your story.


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Author: Paula Prober

I’m a psychotherapist and consultant in private practice based in Eugene, Oregon. I specialize in international consulting with gifted adults and parents of gifted children. I’ve been a teacher and an adjunct instructor at the University of Oregon and a frequent guest presenter at Oregon State University and Pacific University. I’ve written articles on giftedness for the Eugene Register-Guard, the Psychotherapy Networker, Advanced Development Journal and online for psychotherapy dot net, Rebelle Society, Thrive, Introvert Dear, and Highly Sensitive Refuge. My first book, Your Rainforest Mind: A Guide to the Well-Being of Gifted Adults and Youth, is a collection of case studies of gifted clients along with many strategies and resources for gifted adults and teens. My second book, Journey Into Your Rainforest Mind: A Field Guide for Gifted Adults and Teens, Book Lovers, Overthinkers, Geeks, Sensitives, Brainiacs, Intuitives, Procrastinators, and Perfectionists is a collection of my most popular blog posts along with writing exercises for self-exploration and insight.

17 responses to “A Gifted Multipotentialite* in Chile”

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  1. Gifted In Serbia | Your Rainforest Mind

    […] differences? Some of the profiles have been from RFMs in Finland, Spain, Brazil, Malaysia, Belgium, Chile, Lebanon, Netherlands, Canada (via Cameroon), Portugal, Germany, and India. I would love to hear […]


  2. Gifted Adults Around The World — What Do They Have In Common? Meet Alice In Brazil | Your Rainforest Mind

    […] Finland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Malaysia, India, Chile, Canada (via Cameroon) (If you are from a country not yet represented and would like to be […]


  3. 3chidnavxen Avatar
    3chidnavxen

    Thank you for sharing Paula, I resonate with this! Great read 😊


  4. ellabirt Avatar
    ellabirt

    Totally familiar! 🙂 I’ve started as an admin assistant and moved on to event planner, program facilitator, public speaker, jewelry maker, graphic designer, web designer, etsy shop owner, online course creator, and now on to my biggest dream of helping people tap into their subconscious mind and bring the imaginal realm into consciousness (amongst other things!).

    While it’s good to focus until something comes to fruition, over a lifetime we can be many things. I think that’s where us multipotentialites can get hung up. There’s only so much time in a day, so we must plan and choose, but over a lifetime we can explore and accomplish many things. And accomplishment isn’t even the goal, it’s fulfillment and joy.


    1. ellabirt Avatar
      ellabirt

      Oh, and I forgot tarot card reader, radio show host, and barista.


      1. Paula Prober Avatar
        Paula Prober

        Great example, ellabirt!!


  5. Someti Avatar
    Someti

    I resonate to what Paula wrote! But I would like to share with you a bit of my story:

    I have changed careers in the past, I started with MS in one field, then another MS in a different field, then a degree in economics… I switched jobs according to those degrees, wondering if this was going to be “my own life style”. I felt a bit uncomfortable by “not being able to focus” or “just pick one thing” (using Paula’s words).

    But then, about 3 years ago I found a job in which I just happen to fit like perfect! I have been working there since then now and I still feel comfortable, appreciated, and valued. (So I do not feel like changing now) I am so happy with that!!

    So: if someone reading this is changing career paths all the time and is feeling slightly uncomfy with the idea of the relative uncertainty related to frequently switching from job to job, I would say them: do not feel bad for changing jobs, you might eventually find one in which you will find yourself to perfectly fit (and then you may choose to stop changing, if that is what you want) 🙂 hope it helps someone.


    1. Paula Prober Avatar
      Paula Prober

      Wonderful, Someti. Can you tell us what made this career a perfect fit? Maybe it meets many of your varied needs and is challenging your intellect?


      1. Someti Avatar
        Someti

        I think it is a combination of factors: First of all, it is a field which I personally find fascinating. 2nd: It requires me to be skilled in several areas, not just in one single thing. 3rd: it requires a bit of creativity (well, actually, sometimes creativity is “The Key”), 4th: I am the only one (among ~700 coworkers) who knows to do the tasks I do, (ok. Now I better admit that my tasks are “difficult” to some people) so it makes me feel “special”, even if many people do not know what my work is about haha. And, then, one of the most important factors, 5th: some coworkers realize that I do “complex” things and they are not envious, they appreciate me and I feel valued.

        So, in summary: yes it challenges my intellect and it also makes me feel good when interacting with fellows. 🙂


        1. Paula Prober Avatar
          Paula Prober

          Thanks for this description, Someti. Makes sense! I’m so happy for you!


  6. cmd1122 Avatar
    cmd1122

    Thanks for this post Paula–glad your amazing ‘world tour’ has made it to another continent!! It is really heartening to see the similarities around the world 🙂 I also wish we could all gather in person–that would be amazing…will one day be amazing?? I will keep hoping.
    Daniela, mil gracias por compartir tu historia con Paula 🙂 Me encantaría saber más sobre tu libro. (Daniela, thanks for sharing your story with Paula. I would love to know more about your book.)

    Paula, I’ve re-read several of your recent posts this past week and they have been reassuring and helpful. I just wrapped up a very busy but very gratifying six-week period at work, and I am taking the first two days of the work week off. A co-worker asked where I am going to go while off and I thought, “Why do I need to go anywhere to enjoy time off? There are only about a million things I’ve been wanting to get up to recently.”

    Four days off work and I am basking in the joy of having time to indulge in music-making (cello and violin), read novels (couldn’t resist the urge to visit the library and second hand bookstore today–go figure), do yoga, have fun prepping tutoring sessions, get lost in rabbit holes of info on topics of interest, listen to music by some indie singer songwriters I’ve recently come across, spend time recharging among the trees and by the ocean, watching a recording of a webinar that I missed, cooking some hearty food, snuggling my dog, and…
    …becoming really excited about sorting through the applications pouring in for a new a position that I recently crafted with a colleague: someone dedicated to supporting youth in learning more about climate change and processing climate grief, and then organizing to take climate action!!

    Upon re-reading my plan for the weekend, it would appear that I don’t like spending time with people, but I do. Yet with time off, my introvert side is craving for time to dive into activities I love that ground me.
    So far said activities have me in a state of inspired euphoria and are a powerful distraction from and antidote to the state of the world, about which I tend to ruminate too much.
    You already know, but you and this blog and the community living on it have been a rock and inspiration. I also continue to be inspired by the many Indigenous peoples in my region, where people raise their hands to show gratitude. So I will leave you with their way of writing it pictorially:
    \O/


    1. Paula Prober Avatar
      Paula Prober

      Yes, yes, cmd1122! Dive into what you love. Bask in the joy!


  7. conversationswithmesh Avatar
    conversationswithmesh

    Thank you.


  8. kwalters73 Avatar
    kwalters73

    Thank you for sharing Daniela’s story! I’m in my mid-40s, and every 2 years (like clockwork!) I seek to redefine myself. I’m not rising up the corporate ladder by any means, but I’m keeping my brain alive.


    1. Paula Prober Avatar
      Paula Prober

      Keeping that brain alive! Absolutely!


  9. Thuisonderwijs | Unschooling Avatar
    Thuisonderwijs | Unschooling

    Thank you for this story, I can relate very well. I still hear the words, being a mid-centenarian, of course nothing works out, you do way too many things, you need to focus one to finally succeed.
    When I was young I was always ridiculed and laughed at, at home. Every week I had a new plan. A few actually became ‘alive’. The planning, dreaming and creative concepts process is my life energy. Only a handful have the patience to accept that.
    It is exciting, energizing and exhausting at times, but I love it.
    Thank you for you digital support to all as we all need so much of that in today’s world.


    1. Paula Prober Avatar
      Paula Prober

      Yes! Keep doing what is “exciting, energizing, and exhausting at times!” Thank you for sharing.

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