★When Talent is a BAD Thing.

Talent can and does carry people a long way sometimes, but it can also be a crutch. I think this is something that should, but seldom is, talked about. I thought it was something worth creating a thread about. These are just some thoughts I wanted to share. Don’t grade me on grammar, just wanted to get the thoughts out.

Talented people often get treated “special” and this “special” treatment can often have a detrimental influence on a person’s world view – or their view of “reality”. Often people who are gifted in some way skate through school and for lots of different reasons are given a pass lots of times when shouldn’t receive one. There are times when people get bailed out of situations when they need to experience the consequences of bad decisions. This can happen to lots of folks, but it happens to “gifted” people perhaps a little too much. A teacher or mentor can overlook and make excuses to let some things pass that shouldn’t. It can give people a false sense entitlement and leave them unprepared to face real challenges in life. Real life doesn’t bail you out, maybe a rich uncle or a coddling teacher or parent might, but real life won’t. I think we see the consequences this can have when we see fame thrust upon children. It’s not just celebrities, of course, but I think it is often easy to see because of the high profile nature of some celebrities break-downs.

Anyway. It’s a little food for thought I wanted to throw out there.

Talent can only carry you so far. There are times when even the most talented or gifted among us have to roll up our sleeves or get crushed by reality.

Knowing that you “could” do something if you really “wanted” to can become a crutch. It can be a destructive and limiting habit. It’s an easy out and a rationalization for not doing the work. We can delude ourselves that somehow we are “special” and something magically will come along and deliver us from our troubles – after all, it’s always happened before. We’ll win the lottery or something.

A way of living becomes natural after a while. Even crazy stuff can seem natural if you do it long enough. Just because something feels “natural” doesn’t mean it is a good way to live. If you half-way do something over and over, but it always “gets you through”, it might feel natural to do it that way. It doesn’t mean it’s the right way to do something. You can live on crappy tasting food. You can also learn to cook good tasting food. It’s up to you.

If we coast on talent we are easily passed by those who do the work. I do think that some some things come more easily to some people than others. I don’t think it’s all a matter of belief. The way our individual brains are wired, genetics, environmental factors, temperament and other factors all play a role. Talent is definitely overrated. I’d even say, because of how we treat people with talent, we can actually handicap those very people we describe as having talent. Know what I mean?