I was recently introduced to the concept of scanner creatives and multipotentiates. A reframing that the constantly searching mind that doesn’t settle on a single specialty isn’t a deficiency, but an asset. That we need not finish things to be successful. That this roaming searchlight is instead a powerful asset we can offer to others.
I’m realizing that I’ve always felt an intense feeling of responsibility to carry out all of my good ideas. And an intense feeling of guilt when I don’t.
I feel like the proud parent of a brood of wayward projects. I am present and thrilled at their birth, and then they slowly slip away to languish in a forgotten orphanage for gifted children, competing for the prize of most likely to be noticed (and then forgotten) by mother.
Sometimes I visit and take one out for ice cream. They see the school papers of my favorite idea in the back seat and cry silently.
Wow, this metaphor is bleak.
What if I shifted my sense of obligation to one of generosity? If I let myself be the infinite generator and allow my ideas to flow outwards to land where they may?
Perhaps I am like a dandelion, blooming each day in brilliant color. And after the initial flush of excitement, my petals wither and give way to seeds.
There is space for many to grow around me, but few will survive - I’m already here!
Instead I reach skywards and allow to the wind to lift my ideas up and away. May they travel far and blossom in fields far away.
Perhaps you will come along and pick me, bringing me up to your lips and with a sudden gust of your own wind sending me off in the direction of your choosing, ideas glinting in the sun.