Your talent

There was one question on the appraisal form that day that really frustrated me. I couldn't think of anything and sat there with pen in hand, clueless of what to write. 'What is your talent?' Mmmn, well I guess I didn't have one.

The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I got. I'd never been really great at something. It seems that for some people they know what their talent is from childhood - a fantastic singing voice, an ability to draw or paint beautifully or to play an instrument and that’s what they focus on and even make a career out of it. They have their dream and pursue it. I often wondered how nice that must be.

I on the other hand used to have problems with choosing subjects throughout my education as I liked so many things. So when my boss got around to that question, I said rather dejected, "I don't have a talent. I'm quite good at lots of different things but I'm not excellent at anything." At that point he gave me a half smile and said, "That IS a talent. We always need people here that we can put in different places and roles. It's a good thing." I left that meeting really pleased and with renewed confidence in myself.

You see, talents aren’t always obvious. Everyone has them but many talents lie either unrecognised or undiscovered. How do you know if you are good at something or not if you haven’t tried it? The way to get talented is to try different things, and even if you’re not so good at something but you really like it, doesn’t the saying go ‘practice makes perfect’?

So stop looking up wondering and asking what your talents and strengths are. The more you go out there and apply yourself, the more likely you are to discover new things and you may surprise yourself with what you end up being good at.