Talent is Overrated

Talent is overrated. There I said it, not to be controversial but as a reminder to myself. A reminder that talent isn’t the most important thing for success. Almost everything we do as humans is a skill. Meaning they can be learned and developed over time with practice. Talent is our aptitude towards a certain skill.

Being talented is absolutely helpful. It will make someone progress by developing a skill faster than someone else. Maybe even allowing them to skip some steps that others will have to take to be highly skilled. However, talent alone won’t determine who ends up becoming the best at any one skill.

What does it take to be really good at something? Desire and hard work. What can happen in so many cases is someone is talented at something they don’t enjoy. Growing up, I was pretty good at math, but I hated it. I wanted nothing to do with it then, and still want nothing to do with it now. That was a wasted talent I had because it didn’t match what I enjoy doing. Conversely, I wasn’t very good at writing, and here I am, now as an adult working on developing that skill.

Hard work is the most important thing that will determine how successful someone will get at a skill. I was not the best artist in school, but I am the one who is still creating. I am the one who is sticking to it. I have heard this same thought from many artists that have found success. Not giving up and sticking to getting better is what made them successful, because many of them were like me, and not the most talented even in their own school.

There is also the downside of being talented. Which is when something comes easy, you expect it to always come easily to you. This can create a false sense of comfort in thinking you don’t need to work hard or try and improve, thus letting others pass you by.

Now if you are able to put it all together, have talent, enjoy the skill, and put in the hard work, that is where the magic really happens. This is the combination that usually leads to greatness, and odds are if this is you, you’re probably not reading this blog post. That said, being the greatest isn’t the only way to be successful.

Being talented is overrated. Talent is only how fast you can learn and advance at a new skill, it has no indication of how far you will take that skill. Most success is found in sticking to learning and improving. After a while the ones who keep working hard, and enjoy what they are doing will rise above those who are considered more talented but don’t put in the effort. So, if there is something you want to achieve, keep working at it. Don’t worry if others are better than you now, or if it never comes easy. There is a place for everyone and every level of skill.