Giftedness is Good

“Everyone’s good at something.”

Said with the wrong tone, this statement can be taken as demeaning.

It can make someone like they’re being told, “you’re not so special.”

But I think the meaning behind this phrase should be seen as a positive thing. Not only is everone good at different things, but we need each other’s gifts to help each other. It’s the way society is designed to function.

At work I’m often reminded that my coworkers are all good at certain things. Someone’s good at making sense of numbers while someone else is good at connecting with people. Still someone else is the idea person, etc.

If you can’t tell by the title of my blog, I’m not usually the one to take center stage. Because I’m usually the quiet one in a gathering, it’s tempting to feel like I have nothing special to add, like my gifts are miniscule. Such as, I can crack a joke every now and again. Such as, I can decipher the meaning of a novel. Even worse, sometimes I see my strengths as performed only “because I can’t do such-and-such.”

I think it’s very important for people to recognize they have talents, and not only for the momentary psychological benefits. Talents can be fun to develop. They help us connect with other people, and they give the world color.

But there’s a deeper, philosophical reason I believe in talents. I think it’s a matter of survival. Just like wheat that is genetically modified to be a certain length and color looses some of its survival qualities, so will we as humans loose some of our qualities if we cease taking stock of our interests.

I’ve never quite accepted the term, “Jimmy was born to run,” or some other prophesy related to the boy’s destiny. It’s true that Jimmy might enjoy running, may even love or have a passion for it, but to say this is his main goal in life is put him in a box. It’s a crass way of sizing him up to standards that are convenient for us to weigh. I think whatever Jimmy was born to do, he will hopefully find out and learn to do it well.

So I give pause whenever someone uses religious language to reinforce what they are doing or why they are doing it. When people say, “God wants me to do such-and-such,” or even, “God called me…”, I wonder if they are in direct communication with God or whether they’re simply doing what they want to. Sometimes, we don’t know what we want, so we pretend someone else has made the decision, so all we have to do is follow. I think this can be damaging in reference to talents because sometimes it’s difficult to justify why, for instance, God might make me so good at video games.

I think that if you are good at something, and it doesn’t hurt anyone but gives you immense pleasure, confidence or worth, then I say go for it. In high school it became apparent that my brother was a very good dancer. He never pursued dance, I think, largely because no one that I can remember encouraged him to. “It’s nice for high school dances, but what’s the practicality?” We must have all thought. I’ve often felt guilty about not encouraging him, and intensely curious where that path may have led him.

So definitely look for talents in others, as well as yourself. It’s fun to find those with the same passions and skills. I’ve found I often pair myself with the type A personalities, but I also have a heart for those who are too reserved to let their true colors show. Who knows, maybe I’m a talent scout at heart.