What’s My Talent?

Most of us have a special talent or skill that stands out in anything we do. That thing that you can do without breaking a sweat.  That is your talent, your strength, if well developed or your weakness if ignored.  Do you know your talent? Some of us don’t know or we’re somehow sure we don’t have one. In the next few paragraphs, we are going to explore how you can find out what your talent is and explore your full potential.

1. Identify that hidden skill.

Credit

A talent comes naturally. It’s not forced so if you feel like you are forcing it or feel like it’s draining you then probably that’s not your talent. A talent is usually relaxing, soothing, something that makes you forget your problems and no, getting high is not one. So what is that one thing that you can do best than anyone? It can be as simple as cooking or evening cleaning. Talent doesn’t have to mean singing or dancing, playing a sport well and such. It can be writing, giving a talk, cooking, planning, etc.

2. Develop that talent

A talent is like raw material. It needs to be worked on frequently to get the best version of you. Think of it like that cup of tea or coffee. Before it lands on your table, the best beans/leaves are picked, withered, rolled, oxidised, dried then packaged. This simply shows that before we are ready to turn our talents into something someone can pay for, we need to go through various stages and challenges. Look at the best football players they have the talent but they also work hard to be and remain at the top of their game. So talent alone at its basic form does not cut it.

3. Learn from others.

They say the best teacher is experience but for those just starting to explore their talent, you probably don’t have access to any, best way to gain insight on how to explore your talent is to learn from those who have done it before you. Find someone who can walk you through the steps and show you the ropes. True, every situation in life is different but it does not hurt to have some sort of guide.

4. Put yourself out there.

You have identified, researched, and you’re now developing your talent maybe with a helping hand. All that is left is for you to take that first step and put your talent out there. The beginning might be rough and a bit awkward but with time you’ll be able to handle the variety of opinions and feedback out there. Putting yourself out there gives your exposure and access to likeminded individuals. Use the opinions and feedback to craft even better your skill.

Google Is Always Your Friend. Search and read of ways in which you can develop your talent. Research the market if you plan to turn it into a business and weigh the pros and cons. Are you willing to put in that extra hours and extra work? Don’t test the waters with both feet if you’re not sure if you can swim your way out.

5. Be creative.

I know you asking yourself how will all this work. Well think outside the box. Or you just might throw the box out the window and think like there is no box. What about your skill has not been tried out there? What are the gaps out there that you can fix? Try out. Sometimes you’ll fail terribly, don’t give up, go back to your creative space and move on to the next big idea.  Be creative don’t let the normal normalise you, because we were all made to stand out.

For most us we are probably deep into our careers which might or might not be in anyway related to our talent. So, how do you find a balance between your talent and your career? How do you fit it around your busy schedule? Do you ignore it once you have developed your career? For few of us who are lucky our talents develop to be our careers. But what of us whose talent and careers are far apart. Do we just ignore one and place emphasis on another?

We are going to explore this further in our next post.

For those who have managed to hack a balance between exploring your talent and at the same time work on your career, how do you do it? Share with us below in the comment section.