Talent.
I have been doing a lot of thinking a lot about what talent means. When I see people displaying almost insane levels of proficiency in their professions, I tend to wonder what makes them stand out. I understand this question has been answered from many perspectives - Mastery by Robert Greene, One thing by Gary Keller, Grit by Angela Duckworth, Peak by Andrea Erickson, Outliers by Malcom Gladwell, Deep Work by Karl Newport, etc, but most of these books talk about how one needs to spend a number of time honing one’s skill to be a master at it.
The thing I have not been able to get a definite answer about is, what makes someone settle down at a specific niche after they have tried so many things. Like all things one tries, the first few weeks or months are very difficult to navigate. You are learning the ropes of the niche and it becomes very easy to give up if one doesn’t feel a connection to that field. Or is it possible to just pound one’s way to excellence in a niche without feeling any form of natural tendency towards that niche? In my opinion, I believe some deposits of talent are needed to stick around for the long haul to sustain the drudgery that mastering a skill requires. What then is talent if I believe it is needed for someone to stick around for the long haul?
To me, Talent is the substance that helps someone achieve or sustain a state of flow or comfort while performing an activity. What do I mean? Why would someone be comfortable with the sight of blood but can't stand writing a poem? Why do people gravitate towards physical activity vs sitting in silence, open mindedness vs routine? Etc. I believe these natural biases, whatever they might be, is the reason why people who say they enjoy what they do or say they do not see a big deal in what they do, can stick around for a long time to achieve mastery in various niches. Why did I use the reference of someone who enjoys an activity and someone who just doesn’t see a big deal in what they do? Well, as opposed to popular beliefs, I don’t believe people always enjoy what they are good at, being comfortable is just enough to make them stay.
Now, someone might be wondering, how do they find out what their talent is? I think this is why parents normally encourage children to try so many activities before settling down with what they are good at. As adults, we will be very lucky to make a career out of our childhood interests because those are sure indicators of the presence of talent, but if I can’t connect with my childhood interest and I am tasked with seeking activities where I can be really good at, my first task would be to answer the question , what activity am I most comfortable doing? Do I feel comfortable when I have my hands in flour? Do I find myself stalking some weird interest on the internet? Comfortable talking with people? Etc. Anything one is comfortable doing seems like a fertile ground for talent. This means, with enough motivation to carve a career where one is comfortable at, one would find it easier to stick around for the long haul to eventually become a master.
If you observed while I was giving examples of what talent could be, I mentioned very ordinary and mundane things as examples of talent. This is intentional as I do not expect some paranormal abilities to help people to achieve excellence in their endeavours. Mastery is mostly a function of practising correctly over a span of time and talent is what may help you stick around for the amount of time it takes an individual to arrive at mastery.