Zero talent

Something to think about when nothing's working.

I’m planning to hit my stride with these and go back into posting daily, at least for a while - it’s a great exercise in consistency that I’ve missed.

Without further ado, here’s today brain shocker:

A man applies for a job that requires exceptional talent, but during the interview, he doesn’t answer any questions or talk during the interview process. Still, he gets hired on the spot.

How is that possible?

My guilty pleasure is bursting bubbles, so let me do just that by telling you he’s not a mime.

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Talent is a cheap excuse

Something I’ve been recently thinking about is the role of talent in one’s daily life. Everyone’s talented at something - be it sports, arts, certain types of manual labor or various thinking patterns.

For some reason, most people think we can only thrive at the things we’re talented at. In most cases, being talented means you have a natural affinity to a certain topic and can pick it up faster than your peers.

I was pretty talented, I guess, at working a corporate job (that just happened to be marketing), because I quickly understood the office dynamics and learned how to navigate them well. It came natural, for whatever reason.

In time, I realized I’m “talented” at lateral thinking, mostly because I always ask myself unorthodox questions and rarely take truth at face value.

Does that mean, by default, that I’m great in a corporate setting or great at lateral thinking? Not at all. It just means that I can pick up those skills (to an intermediate level) faster than most.

Becoming exceptional always takes work and consistency. If you’re talented and also put in the work for a long period of time (and have a bit of luck), you’ll become truly extraordinary.

But I’ve recently realized I now get the most satisfaction out of moving forward with things I’m absolutely shit at.

I was not athletic at all as a kid. The first time I went to a karate class when I was 7, I fainted.

When I was 26, I picked up kickboxing. I’m pretty sure I literally punched myself in the face within the first 3 classes.

I kept going with it, though, added BJJ to the mix and while I’m in no way spectacular at any of these, the fact that I’ve been putting in the time for the past 7 years has made me decent at the sport.

It still takes more effort for me to progress than it takes someone who’s naturally talented, but that doesn’t take away from the joy I get when I see myself improve.

Quite the opposite, the satisfaction is even higher because I know how hard it is for me.

So instead of quitting things that don’t come natural, keep pushing on at least with a few of them, especially if you think they’ll improve your quality of life.

You will most likely surprise yourself and get ride of that little goblin in your head that makes fun of you when you’re not immediately great at something.

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Answer: the man was a scuba diver and he was participating in a practical interview underwater, where he could not talk or answer questions.