How to see your talents?

The brain is wrong

Often the brain reads information from the real world not quite correctly. And in fact, this is normal – it is so arranged. A great example is optical illusions.

For example, a photo popular a few years ago with a dress that seemed white and gold to some, and black and blue to others. When information from the senses is insufficient or ambiguous, the brain turns to previous experience: “It seems that this photo was taken in the dark with a flash, so the dress is black and blue,” one person’s argument. “No, this photo was taken in the light – it is white and gold,” another counterargument.

There is another popular illusion that is easy to find on the Internet: a photo of a red strawberry that is actually gray. The brain knows that strawberries are red, it has been convinced of this more than once in the past. And the image looks ambiguous – everything spoils the blue filter.

These two examples are the easiest way to show how the brain can err. It relies on insufficiently representative information from the outside world. And therefore we can sincerely believe that we, for example, are untalented and do not know how to do anything.

What is talent?

We are accustomed to consider the ability to sing, draw and other skills related to art as talents. At the same time, we stubbornly ignore such skills as:

• fast switching between tasks;
• improving communication in the team;
• team management;
• stress resistance;
• performance.

Professional skills are also our talents. Moreover, we use them not only at work, but also in social life: we solve current problems, meet new people, win them over, showing empathy.

We follow our own personal life path, do many useful things, gain useful experience and stubbornly refuse to admit that we are unique. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to rise above yourself and learn to evaluate yourself adequately.

Share thoughts and feelings

These two things should not be confused. “I don’t want to go to work tomorrow, it has no prospects, I don’t do anything useful there” is a thought that visits us before going to bed. “I feel sad and scared” is an accompanying feeling. Sad, because “I’m not doing anything useful, nothing that I like.” It’s scary, because “time is running out, and I’m wasting it on nonsense.”

There are many solid arguments to be found that we are doing everything right. For example:

• I am smart – I have two higher educations;
• I have a lot of work experience;
• I am stress-resistant – I have not died of work terror over the years and have been productive;
• I am a creative person – I came up with a lot of creative moves.

But feelings of longing and fear are enough to cross out all this and draw a conclusion about their mediocrity.

It is more difficult to analyze ourselves than others, because in the case of strangers, emotions do not interfere with us, and self-analysis is always accompanied by feelings. However, you can learn to objectively assess your performance.

How to evaluate yourself adequately?

Create your own self-assessment scale and build on it.

Compare yourself not to others, but to yourself

It seems obvious that the opinion of others is the measure for us. But we were born in specific circumstances and walked a unique path. The people around had different initial conditions, these people got a different experience. Comparing yourself to others is therefore not entirely correct.

Rely on a sense of self-satisfaction

Are you satisfied with yourself? Do you like what you do? Not to parents, not to critics, but to you personally? You will have to live your life and reap the fruits of your actions, not others. Your desires did not come from nowhere – they were formed along with your personality.

Analyze the behavior of people who are authoritative to you

If you want a result “like him”, find out how “he” got it and how he started. And it would be nice to know what is the other side of a person’s success. At what cost did he get it?

Remember that constant approval doesn’t get you anywhere.

Do not be afraid of criticism – it is useful. If you receive only laudatory feedback, then motivation will begin to disappear.

They bring pleasure. But often the skills that we use in such cases, for some reason, we do not consider talent.

Remember yourself as a child: in some activities we plunged headlong. Finding such cases as an adult is not easy, but it is real – it is in them that you will reveal your talents. Therefore, start from those things that bring pleasure and come naturally.

The key to your talent box is activities that you engage in with passion and childlike interest. They are, and they are at hand.