On being a scanner
Are you looking for this ONE thing, but you can´t find it? Are you interested in multiple things, but often the topics you have been keen on lost their attraction and the feeling of enthusiasm disappeared?
Or you just can´t choose which idea to follow, because there are too many? You are stuck of too many options, which leads you to not doing anything at all instead? Do you think, nothing feels as special as that it could be this one thing that will take a leading role in your life?
If you never heard of scanners before, here could be an answer for you.
Lately a friend told me that she got her motorbike license. After one year she only had made a few trips. "You know", she said. "I think I only got my driver's license because I just wanted to know how to do this stuff and that I can do it. It's actually not about using it or driving though the scenery for me.
THIS really sounds like a scanner. Scanners are multi-interested (multi-passionate) people, who love to read and write, repair, and invent and create and design and learn new things (note: AND not or!).
They are often autodidacts and interested in a wide variety of areas that seem to have nothing to do with each other. Scanners have a lot of ideas, they like to explore and try things out, and are usually enthusiastic. But it could also be difficult for them to stay focused and decide what to do next. Scanners are often overwhelmed by their many ideas and their interest in something can quickly disappear. Often, they look for this ONE passion until they realize that it is in their nature to have MANY passions.
The expression “scanner” goes back to Barbara Sher, an American author and coach. During her coaching sessions she discovered the multi passionate nature of some clients, who were lost in the feeling of what to do, thinking that there must always be this one passion you have to follow. But this doesn´t always work with scanners. It’s not their nature to have one passion. And - that’s the point – in order to live a meaningful life, you have to follow your nature. That’s why specialists have to be specialists. And that’s also why generalists (scanners) have to be generalists. Because this is their nature and there will be their talent. And what is best: The world need them both.
Why do a lot of people resonate so much with this?
Scanners (who don´t know they are scanners) think that somehow they are incapable. Everywhere they get this great advice to “follow your passion”, but there is not that one passion. Okay, somehow, they can really be passionate about things, especially in the beginning. But this often never last long, so they think something might be wrong. They feel uncomfortable because they can´t understand themselves. The think they are the only ones who can´t find THAT thing. And not just because society might find them unsteady but because they really want to pursue their purpose. But they can´t see it.
The good news: the multi passion thing is THE thing! This is their element, and here is their talent. Considering this, you will soon find out that being a scanner has lots of advantages.
What are the talents of a scanner? Scanners are enthusiastic, adaptable, autodidacts and interested in many things (even in things that don't seem to be thrilling at the first place), - and furthermore scanners are generalists and outside-the-box thinkers. And yes, the future will be a great time for scanners. Adaptability and flexibility will be the most required skills in future. Sven Gabor Janszky, futurist and trend researcher, believes that in the future people won´t do the same job for a long time because there will be too much change in the working environment. Many jobs will no longer exist, and new jobs will be created, but you may not know about them right now. You can´t even imagine what jobs there will be in the future (Remember: 20 years ago there were no SEO expert jobs and no Youtubers). Presumably this question "What will you become when you grow up? “, will disappear in the next decades ;).
The Key Message - for everyone, of course not just for scanners, is: Follow your nature. When you are doing something, ask yourself: “Do I feel in my element right now?”
Everything you love is a clue from your DNA.” Sher said. It just feels good. It`s creating some kind of flow. That’s it.
"Of course, horses can swim and birds can walk. But they don´t do that, for fun.” Sher points out. And Maslow, an American psychologist who did a lot of research about human needs and is famous for his “hierarchy of needs”* puts it this way in his essays: It´s about making “a rose into a good rose, rather than in a lily".
An additional piece of advice Sher gives, is that you don´t have to quit your job (or something else) - just because you feel like something is missing.
Don´t put yourself under this pressure. It seems to be a strange misconception that if something is missing, you have to give up something first. As she said - This would be like going shopping naked because you need a black sweater. If something is missing in your closet, you would go to get it first. And THEN - over time - you would throw away the clothes that are no longer needed. You wouldn't do that in advance.
So, if something is missing, get it. Add it. Try things out to find it. (Try things out -> I think this is the KEY key message). If you don't feel any passion yet, that’s ok! What might help is to stay open and curious. Stay curious about life and about where curiosity is taking you. The trick is to get started, even it you don´t have a plan. Just start - and see what happens. No more „I should“-stuff ;)
Conclusion:
I´ve read a lot about how people (scanners who didn´t know they were scanners) described their reaction when they stumbled upon this scanner theory. How much they resonated with it! It was the same with me, too. And I think it is because of those AHA-feelings “Oh, that´s why! That explains a lot...”.
—> The aha-moment of the scanner
And as a final thought, the famous speech by Steve Jobs comes to mind:
"You cannot connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.“
* Book Transcend by Scott Barry Kaufmann. By the way, the pyramid was not created by Maslow
Need some ideas to structure your life as a scanner? Find here