I'm also the sort of person who has been drawn to many different "life callings" and finds many different paths interesting. After years of pursuing what I thought was my "life calling" (being a professor) and constantly feeling depressed and distracted, I realized that the entire concept of a life calling is flawed. I recommend this TED talk, which discusses that exact problem and celebrates the benefit of not having a life calling, but of embracing the ability to pursue different paths. For some reason our culture is so obsessed with the idea that we all have to have this single purpose for existing individually, and if we don't find that single purpose and be the best at it then we are clearly failures. Personally I am happy to be someone who knows a lot about different things and has multiple talents and interests. I couldn't imagine doing just one thing for my entire life.
Many thanks for the video. The part about the guy who is both a psychologist and violin maker made me chuckle as it reminded me of a meeting with my college careers advisor who couldn't believe the dilemma I was having over whether to try out for drama school or apply for an accounting degree. For him, it was impossible to be interested in such diverse topics. I had to be either one or the other. He'd obviously never heard of the term "multipotentialite".
I liked what the speaker said about idea synthesis and innovation happening at the intersections. I sort of feel that writing represents my idea synthesis, as I draw on the various elements and experiences that have made up my life in my writing.
It's also totally true what she said that no experience is a waste. I have personally found this. After completing an accounting degree I realised that life as an accountant wasn't for me, but I later used some of the skills I learned about taxes etc when I ran my own business as a language teacher. It all helps!
Did you give up working towards professorship altogether or just widen your focus? Are you still in academia?
Hey! I just wrote a post about this, if you're interested. :) https://steemit.com/multipotentialite/@malloryblythe/why-you-don-t-need-a-life-calling-to-be-successful-or-the-burden-of-the-multipotentialite