A lot of what I write about talks about personal change. The ability to become more skillful at understanding what we don’t know (and then do something about it) in order to better achieve what we want.
One thing that is not written or talked about is that the possibility always exists that we just don’t have enough talent to fulfill the responsibilities we are asked to carry out. Or the skills necessary to achieve our dreams. (I know I have rarely thought about not having enough talent.)
Talent is a very broad word. Taking it into a more narrow focus, talent is the strength or skill you need to have in order to accomplish what you set out to do. Or what your responsibilities ask of you to do.
Not having enough talent is pretty hard to hear and not easy to identify by ourselves. Think of the minor league baseball player that never gets to the major leagues. They just didn’t have enough talent. They either couldn’t pitch or hit well (specific skill) even though they were a great team mate.
First we have to come to the realization that we don’t have enough talent. Very hard for us to do. Repeated frustration may give us a hint that we don’t have the talent to succeed in the situation we’re in. Repeated failures also try to tell us. Friends are just too afraid to say anything. What complicates this is that it is very hard to determine when we should persevere a little longer in order to breakthrough versus when in reality there is very little chance of succeeding.
Realizing we don’t have enough talent can lead us in many productive directions.
We could try to learn more to acquire a talent or skill we need. We could adjust or change our goals to better match what we are already able to do (using the talent or skills we do have). We could change our thinking or approach in order to breakthrough. We could look for situations where others value the skills we have rather than those we do not.
If we are the number one person in an organization and are failing because we don’t have the talent to carry out the responsibilities or roles asked of us in that position we may be better suited being a number two or number three instead.
Maybe we can’t get to the dream we imagined but can join a company that is pursuing something similar. This gives us the chance to be part of something bigger than ourselves.
Or we have to readjust our goals (personal or professional) to make them better fit our talent so that we can feel good about ourselves when we achieve them in a new setting.
We are not taught or brought up to easily identify what talent we have. Especially when we need to see if our talent fits the context, roles, and responsibilities asked of us in a given situation. This requires the difficult skill of self-awareness.
Our pesky ego, again gets in the way. Our ego keeps telling us that we are the best, that we have the talent to succeed against the goals we have chosen for ourselves. We need to put our egos to sleep so that we can better see who we are.
The outside world will both judge and give us hints as to whether we have the talent to succeed. The outcomes of our efforts will also help show us the answer to the question — do we have enough talent to succeed?
We just need to make sure to listen when they are loud and attentive to what we are having trouble achieving so that we can, again, adjust and move on.