Oh my goodness, are you Gen X? I have been thinking similar thoughts. I would say don’t be too hard on yourself. I think the endless wandering and searching and meandering is a necessary rite of passage - until we firm up our core and gather enough confidence to go headstrong towards our goals. I’m in my 40s - and it feels that everything is crystallising and shaping into something more bona fide for me recently.

As for me…

In one word, legacy

Before I go and explain why legacy, I gotta digress and explain a bit of myself. My MBTI profile is ENFP. We are the zany and exuberant people who have a million and one creative ideas floating around in our heads - but can’t seem to settle down to get any one of them actualised.

I’m lucky in the sense that I love writing and am eager to slog it out as a struggling freelance writer for my side hustle, never mind if other gigs can garner me more money. Writing allows me to express my originality and create unorthodox things - which appeals to the ENFP side of me.

So life would have been a hell lot easier if I were able to choose a specialisation and double down on it to make it my niche/forte. For better or worse, I actually sat down this December to write down all the topics I am interested to write about. There are four main themes: AI, Bitcoin, parenting and Japan. And my swirling mind just won’t settle for these four. I kinda write about Ethereum too.

In this age of constant distractions, I know that maintaining a razor sharp focus is key to achieving anything significant. So logically, I should just pick one theme and focus all my energy on it. Give it all I’ve got. But unfortunately, that’s not how my ENFP mind works.

I want to aim for something bigger. Strive to be a multihypenate who can write adeptly about many different things. I want to have fun and explore cross-disciplinary subjects. Like the intersection of AI with Bitcoin. Or the differences between parenting in Japan and in my country. It will take me a longer time to succeed as a content creator than if I were to concentrate on writing Japanese cultural articles. But honestly, I can’t quite control my muse. For instance, my preoccupation today is to finish reading the chapters under the Prosperous section of a book entitled Danshari (the Japanese concept of decluttering excess). Even if I were to force myself to read up on Bitcoin, there would be a constant stirring of my soul that will exhort me to think about Danshari.

I guess that mayn’t be a bad thing at all. I can only use my wits and follow my heart. Hopefully, 2024 will see people recognising me for my myriad interests and wacky way of synthesising them. Leaving a legacy as a passionate multihypenate.

Good luck to us all!