The illusion of doing everything at once

Being a jack of all trades isn’t synonymous with diligence and consistency.

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The illusion that you can do everything at once is one of the reasons several people remain on one spot, running in circles and making little or no impact in any area they’re involved.

Several talented people feel that because they’re in good health, possess a functional brain and are full of ideas, they can do everything at once and get recognised for being polymaths. It’s an illusion, and some people often fall prey to this general belief and go through a good part of their life doing everything at once and never specialising in anything until they discover that they have acquired general knowledge but lack depth in any of the fields. 

Life is about making sacrifices. I don’t mean the simplistic view of sacrifice through the lens of only what is given up, implied as a LOSS. The other aspect of sacrifice is GAIN. When one sacrifices, it’s because he believes that what he will gain far exceeds what he will lose in the process of sacrifice. So, sacrifice has two sides – loss and gain.

Causes of unbridled desire to do everything at once

The illusion that one can be available in all the places and do all the things is sometimes born out of:

1. Outward Projection of false Productivity

This often arises from the sensation that one must be hyperactive to prove productivity. This perception is unfounded because many times the people around you care less about how many things you’re involved with. What most people care about are your output and impact. You could be involved with multiple tasks, but if you’re inefficient and ineffective, your ‘busy’ schedule will make little meaning to most people.

2. Enjoying Fleeting Experiences

Some people who think that they can do everything at once sometimes feel that all things are fleeting. As a result, they want to be involved in all to enjoy each of these fleeting experiences. It’s the hormonal rush for them. The fact is that several moments in life are cyclic and would re-present themselves at later times when you’d relaxedly enjoy them.

3. Be-in-their-face syndrome

Some people think that you have to be everywhere to be noticed and recognised. “Out of sight is out of mind”, they’d say. So, they’re everywhere touching everything to gain recognition and clap of hands. Mind you, this isn’t consistency; it’s just for the sake of being noticed.

4. All-is-gain, some-is-loss mentality

This pattern of thought results from the wrong notion that when one gives up something for another, he is losing. So, one has to do everything so one can gain. They misinterpret the Bible verse that instructs to sow in the morning and evening seeing that one may not know which would do well. This is wrong because being everywhere at once isn’t what the Bible instructed in that verse of the Scriptures.

A few closing words:

1. Understand that sacrifice is a beautiful thing. Whether you’re sacrificing for spiritual growth, peace, health, wealth, professional and business success, know that sacrifice is rewarding.  It doesn’t feel good in the beginning, but its reward is fulfilling.

2. While you may be good at several things, you must be ready to keep some interests in the cooler and develop a specific area first. Once that area has been mastered, you can gradually reawaken your passions in others. I often tell young people to critically look at their passions to identify one that, to a great extent, captures other passions. Start with that. Once that one is well brewed, invite the other passions to wake up. You’ll observe how the other talents/passions blend into that main area you’ve mastered.

3. Set priorities. As I said earlier, a good part of our life involves giving up something for another thing that is more valuable – sacrifice. So, you need to order your talents, passions, engagements, and activities and know which comes first and which needs to wait until further notice. For instance, although I love to write and read historical books, I know that they come behind my main passion, which is to be a great surgeon. So, I won’t leave the time I should be studying my medical books to write. I must prioritise, or else I’ll be unhappy even after I’ve done something I enjoy.

4. Be okay with not wanting to impress but to impact. What lasts isn’t the recognition that you get today. What is more durable isn’t appearing everywhere to get noticed but building on a given area until you’ve made long-lasting impacts.

So, understand that you can’t do everything at once. Settle that in your mind and sacrifice what is less important for what is more important. Master your passion and later incorporate other interests. 

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