How to Pursue Multiple Paths?
What was a nudge that interrupted your thoughts today, but you ended up just snoozing it? I am referring to nudges such as finishing that woodworking project sitting half-done in your garage, joining that fitness dance class you always drive by, enrolling for that AI training recommended by your colleague, contributing to the local library’s green initiative, etc. We all want to find more time to take up that new project, learn a new skill or be more involved in like-minded communities.
Often we already have a passion or a hobby or a side hustle that we want to be able to devote more time and energy to. For example, if you play tennis twice a week you might want to take it to the next level by joining a local league, or if you are a painter you might want to finally put together your own gallery exhibit, or you may finally want to build that word game app! How can we design a life around all our interests and passions? How can we learn and keep growing in multiple dimensions to live our truest expression of life? It’s time to unleash the PolyPath inside all of us!
Rather than boxing up things as career, hobby, passion, relationships, etc., I like to call anything meaningful in our life that we want to grow at as a life path. PolyPaths are those of us who like to pursue multiple paths in life, and love to progress on each of them. These paths together give us our holistic identity. We all are knowingly or unknowingly on different paths in life; pursuing these paths give us a unique interdisciplinary outlook and take us closer to our most authentic self..🙂
Okay, sounds good in theory! How can one actually pursue these paths? I have been on a polypathic journey for many years and my diverse paths include math, music, privacy tech, performance, research and most recently, parenting. Let me share some things that have worked for me -
First Things First
Identify what paths are most interesting and important to you at your current stage in life. Don’t be afraid to pursue your curiosity for the sake of it, not everything has to have an immediate, tangible “return on investment”. For example, I learnt dance as a kid not necessarily because I wanted to be a dancer but because I was drawn to it (of course, credit to my mom who actually introduced me to it!). Even though dance is no longer an active path in my life, it has enhanced my musical path, has helped me visualize my music better, and makes my collaborations with dancers more fruitful!
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things because we are curious. Curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - Walt Disney
Following your curiosity doesn’t mean dabbling with ten different things when you feel like it, but rather being curious and open about where our chosen paths take us. We are naturally drawn to progress. Think of the happiness you experience on unlocking a new level in your game or hitting that new top score. It’s the same dopamine hit that you experience when there was a dance move you couldn’t do which you are able to in the next class, or when there was a concept that didn’t make sense but then it did when you read that next chapter. Happiness compounds with growth, and so the longer you stick to a path the more you derive meaning and joy from it! 🙂
Carve Out Time
Once you identify the paths, the next step is to allot time in your schedule for those. Pick a few paths that are most important to you, and proactively add time for those in your calendar. This is easier for trainings or classes that have a fixed schedule, but needs some extra effort for self-driven paths such as home projects or solo practice or reading. Focus on scheduling only one new path at a time, and add new ones only when that is seamlessly integrated in your routine. Commit to the time for the path in advance, so you don’t end up missing it when life happens!
Time is finite, so making time for a new path means saying no to existing commitments or amending existing ways of spending time. The low-hanging fruits include creating distraction-free time blocks by turning off notifications, reducing doom scrolling or passive consumption time, etc. This is of course easier said than done, but the trick that often works for me is delaying the urge of a “bad” habit by 2 min. This pause helps me evaluate why I want to do that particular action, and I will decide there is no good reason. Of course, sometimes I do convince myself I have a “good enough” reason but in general, being more mindful of how you spend your time, will make you more intentional about the life you are designing for yourself. 🙂
Another trick that has worked for me is to schedule things in a way that energizes you. For example, I sometimes take a break from work in the afternoons to spend some time on my music. If I am in the office, I book one of the music rooms at Google. And then I spend some extra time in the evening or night on work when I need to. This schedule not only helps me make progress on my musical path, but also revitalizes me to be more productive at work. I often come back to work with more creative ideas for solving problems. So, play around with your schedule, and see what works better for you. Maybe exercising in the evenings does the trick for you, or waking up early to work on your app gets you jazzed up...
Decide Relationship with your Job
We all live by financial realities. So for most of us, one of our paths will likely be an income-earning job. Ideally, it’s a job that we enjoy and have a path to learn and progress. If that’s not the case, it’s a good idea to prioritize finding a job that you can see yourself grow. A job is typically a major chunk of your time and energy, and finding joy and meaning there is a crucial step to a fulfilling life. Even if it’s not possible right away due to the current macroeconomic scenario or some other constraints, make a plan to get there.
Often a job that we do enjoy ends up taking more energy and time than we intend, causing stress and burnout. Spending more time working doesn’t necessarily mean better or more output at work, especially for knowledge jobs. I remember during my PhD days, I often used to make mistakes in my proofs and calculations if I was working non stop without a break. On the other hand, taking some time to practice music or going for a nature walk would help me look at the bigger picture and spark new approaches to solve my problems.
So it’s important to take a step back and look at your job as a path to building your unique self without comparing your trajectory to anyone, and keeping a long-term view. Some questions that I ask myself to get perspective - What is the learning opportunity in this job? What can I learn from my boss, my team and the processes set up in this organization? What skills do I want to gain in the next few years? What are some projects I can take on to grow myself while contributing positively to the organization’s goals?
In Summary
Take the time and energy to commit to the paths that bring you joy. Those paths in turn will energize you and elevate you to a more fulfilled self. Also, don’t shy away from mentioning all your paths when someone asks you What do you do? - because, remember you are a PolyPath! 🙂
Nice writing!