Is Talent really a thing?

This thought has constantly gnawed on my existence for a while now, but after some real deliberation, personal experiences, and a conversation on the same with one of my teachers, I am convinced to believe that Talent is nothing but a profoundly overused term that fools people into thinking that they are worthless.

So, here is a personal story.

Less than a year back, while we were in lockdown, on one of the mornings, a question suddenly occurred to me that “ What do I want to do in life?” I did not have an answer to the question that minute, the next hour, next day, weeks, months, and I still don’t.

But the question that occurred to me subsequently was that “ Was I always going to be this listless and desultory”?. I was in a state of the quandary of what I wanted to do and realized that I could not think of anything I’m good at to do something with it. I could not sing, dance, do sports and I don’t think I had a creative outlet either.

Then I thought to myself that If I learn all of those things I can still be good at them. This euphoria of hope stayed for a second until I thought that I am already 18…..its too late, what’s the point? It’s not like I was going to do a job in any of those fields. I thought to myself that there were already myriads of people who were very “talented”. I was intimidated to start. I sang and danced for a few days and I left it. I painted for exactly one afternoon.

Things were the same until 2021 hit…

It struck me that I just wasted a year, similar to the previous years I wasted and I realized that if the failure was inevitable, then why not just try? I started taking art classes every day and I literally learned everything from scratch, and then I started painting as well.

I did it for quite some time and then I realized that I wanted to quill as well. I started quilling and in a short period, picked its nitty-gritty and began flourishing at it. I am still learning, but I am making progress every day.

I came to the brink of realization that in just a month, I started drawing, painting and quilling well, whereas the whole of last year I just spent in quantification, contemplation, and procrastination of doing all of these things. Just by starting, I learned so much than just sitting and thinking of how tough it would be. I realized that my one month of imperfect action was much more productive than months of perfect inaction.

They weren’t even in the same universe. I never knew I could quill so well until I harnessed that undiscovered potential of mine by simply trying it out.

This is where the word “talent” confuses us by forcing us to think that to start anything we need to be “talented” to even begin, and most of us tend to believe that and don’t even start. This prevents people with reservoirs of hidden talents to unleash their true capabilities and potentials.

There are myriads of people who are late bloomers in life and have been incredibly successful by just starting what they like to do.

Renowned fashion designer Vera Wang didn’t design her first dress until the age of 40, up until then, she worked as an editor at Vogue for 17 years and then for two years at Ralph Lauren. After which she decided to open her bridal wear dress store by designing her first dress. It all started from there. Today she is worth 420 million dollars. It’s not like she started big or even with much prior knowledge, but she just started!

Legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt said that “ I trained 4 years to run 9 seconds. Some people don’t see results in 2 months and give up”. Amongst many things, I am guilty of this one.

We often get infatuated by the results but are oblivious of the strenuous process people go through. He wasn’t naturally born with the ability to run this fast. It took time, dedication, and consistent effort. Could I run this fast? I probably could. But am I willing to put in the effort? Maybe not.

It’s not like I have a paralyzed inability to run but I strongly prefer eating fries and Ice-cream and sleeping in every morning, while people constantly keep tabs on what they are eating and tirelessly sweat it out. They are not talented, they choose to work really really hard.

No one is born with an innate inborn talent, it is a product of hard work, persistence, sweat, sleepless nights, and the ability to say NO to things. Anyone can do this.

We also often mistake inexperience for disinterest or naturally assuming that we are bad at something. Eg: Golf. I used to say that I am bad at Golf and “I’m not interested in it”, without even trying it! Come to think of it, it’s actually ludicrous that I used to say that. I could have probably said that I haven’t played golf and then actually try it out!

It’s not like Tiger Woods rolled out of his mother’s womb and became a stupendous Golfer or even Beyoncé (who had to make hundreds of songs to get Halo) just got out of bed and became a successful singer. They worked for it. It needed skills and persistence.

Real talk, I’m no philosopher and I’m not trying to propagate mystical things here, but what I’m saying here is actually simple. It is that the phrase “You need to be talented” should not inhibit us from trying things or even starting things out as it did me.

For years, I was so stagnant because I was living in this illusion. I was on this quest to mind my “Eureka moment” without getting my hands dirty. But truth be told, the idea of a single Eureka moment is a dangerous lie, it makes us feel inadequate, that we haven’t found ours. Not that I’ve found mine, but now I’m immersed in the process of actually finding it, by actually trying new things and not superficially looking for it.

Folks, No one starts at the top. Everyone starts somewhere and tries to make it to the top.

Hope this wasn’t too overwhelming and preachy!

Honestly, if you take anything from this article

Let it be this :

Just start whatever you wanted to do for months- could be starting your business venture, playing the Ukulele, Starting your own YouTube Channel, trying a new sport, or writing a book. Trust me, you do not need prior experience to Just start. You’ll learn so much on the way.

Don’t let an overrated 6 letter word deter you from getting what you want.

So I’m playing it safe, and ending this article with a quote, I really cant help myself with this one :’)

In Einstein’s words :

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

P.S- Feel free to disagree with me in the comments :)