How to identify what you are good at

Posted byOchmanPosted inCareer, inspirational, motivational, short readsTags:, , , , , ,

Some of us were fortunate enough to be superstars from childhood.

We were put down a specific path in life. Our parents took us through a regimented lifestyle. Our lives revolved around, say, the golf course, music lessons, swimming classes etc. Little wonder we turned out to be excellent at these.

Tiger Woods was introduced to golf before the age of 2 and beat his father at golf when he was 11.

Beyoncé won her first singing talent contest at age 7.

Some of us were not so lucky. Even at age 20, we have not the slightest idea of what we are good at. We begin each year with a fresh passion, a new idea. We tell ourselves ‘this is the one I am good at’ but before long we lose steam and interest. This might not be for us after all.

We can’t all be great golfers or musicians or bloggers.

We all have different paths in life. Our paths are as different as our finger prints – no two are alike even on the same hand. Even twins born within the same womb have different paths in life. The question, and the point of all this, is ‘how do I identify what my path is, what am I good at?’. It does help when our parents help us by identifying certain traits and natural tendencies, like an ear for music, and directs us appropriately.

I believe that we were born with a distinct music playing in our soul. A common theme that resonates everywhere we go and in whatever we do. Something that makes our heart beat faster, something that evokes emotion in us. That thing that we can do with minimal preparation. This is our natural gift or talent. We were born with this. It does not matter how small it might seem. You might have a great smile – this could be your gift to the world.

The other side to it is what we can become good at by choice. The human mind can be likened to a programmable computer. We can train ourselves to become good at what we choose to do. Even the Tiger Woods and Beyoncés who seem to have found their natural gifts and talents early in life still put in a lot of time to hone their craft. This is the power of choice and will.

 

Published by Ochman

Nice to meet you. I am passionate about seeing personal growth and development in others. As a firm believer in the full exploitation of individual gifts and talents, I share my thoughts and observations from everyday encounters with others to spur them up to great heights.

17 thoughts on “How to identify what you are good at”

  1. I appreciate the fact that you pointed out the fact that many people even at adulthood, haven’t realised what their good at or what their passions are. So many times we are given examples of so and so who accomplished this and that by such an age. Or someone who always knew what they wanted to be. And although these examples are intended to motivate and inspire us, they can actually demoralise many of those who haven’t figured their passions yet. A very well thought out post!

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    1. Thanks for your candid comment and also for reading. I know a lot of people have not yet discovered what they are great at. I guess the point of the post is to motivate people to look beyond the prodigies and superstars. To consider those things which look like nothing like a great smile, helping others, teaching others for example. We can’t all be great golfers, musicians or politicians but we can all be great!

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  3. this is really lovely and will comfort many people who, even in later years, still have no idea what their purpose is on earth. Thank you so much.

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  4. That’s such a nice post, it actually made me question myself and kind of take a moment to recollect all the things that I am good at and finally come to that one thing that I am best at! Thanks for the post.

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  6. Great post. I’ve always liked what Kurt Vonnegut once said. he said that the most interesting sixty five year olds he ever met still didn’t know what they wanted to do when the grew up.

    That certainly applies to my son-in-laws sister. She’s a bit of globe trotter, and can tell you incredible stories about trekking across Africa or the Australian Outback, or hitch hiking across America, Canada, and Mexico. Or Living in Thailand, surviving horrible snow storms in just a tent in Nepal, or climbing mountains in South America and living with the indigenous people of the Amazon. Or worse, stumbling into Taliban held territory because her and her friends got lost, avoiding capture, and finally being rescued by Army Rangers.

    She speaks a dozen languages, and is comfortable most anywhere she goes.

    Her family is terribly upset with her because she hasn’t made her first million yet (she often times supports herself by waitressing and washing dishes), but as I told her father, “When she’s old and they finally wheel her into the old age home, she’s going to be the most interesting person there.”

    I hope she writes a book someday. No one would believe it, but I sure want to read it.

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    1. Wow! Talk about ‘living life to the full’ and holding nothing back! About her ‘first million’ there’s every potential for her to make it in this internet age. A book, as you mentioned, and a blog will no doubt get a wide audience, followership and readership. Cheers to all those who love and celebrate their uniqueness.

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