Feeling tired after a busy week, I gave in to the lure of crap TV the other night and settled with my hubby and an easter egg (still getting through them) in front of Britain’s Got Talent. I’m not a massive fan of reality TV but I love BGT.
I love the way that everybody is encouraged to have a go and the self-belief that the contestants have. No matter how obscure their talent, they believe they have a right to be there and perform and they are given the space to do so. Watching the show, also got me thinking about talent and what it means to be talented. As I approach 40, I’m finally at a point in my life where I can call myself talented. Not in an acrobatic, set yourself on fire kind of way but I do recognise that I have my own special strengths. I didn’t always feel that way.
Growing up and for much of my twenties and thirties, I had always felt like a pretty average person. I was one of those people who put reading and socialising under the Interests section on their CV – I know, completely pointless. I had never really had any hobbies or sporting abilities as a kid and as an adult in my twenties I pretty much went to work, met friends afterwards, and went home. If anything my talent was being able to hold my alcohol but you can’t put that on your CV! So what’s different now – have I taken up some new outlandish hobbies or suddenly mastered my two left feet to get some sporting ability? No, my talents were always there, and I used them all the time but now I have unearthed them and I have recognised them as talents.
When I work with clients who want to change career, we will always start by exploring who they are. What drives them, what’s the vision for their life, what do they value, what do they enjoy doing, what are they knowledgeable about and what are they good, or talented, at. This is an enlightening, but difficult process, for most and one of the areas that my clients struggle with is talking about their talents. Usually this is because they have no idea just how talented they are or what actually constitutes a talent.
A talent does not have to be a proficiency in chess, or table tennis, or rock climbing. A talent is something that you are uniquely good at and drawn to. It is something that people think of when they think of you. It is an activity that you engage in and lose track of time when you are doing it. Perhaps you have a talent for talking to people, for helping them with their problems, for inspiring them to take action? Maybe you have an eye for design, for dressing yourself or others. For being effortlessly stylish? Or perhaps you are a whizz with technology. You have an app for everything and when someone is struggling to find something on their phone you can take over and locate it in seconds.
Maybe you’ve always been talented but you’ve been thinking about talents in the wrong way. If you’re struggling to identify your special talents then try these exercises:
- Phone a friend. What do your friends think you are good at? What advice do they turn to you for?
- Watch your conversations. What do you find yourself naturally talking about and advising others on?
- What were you good at as a kid? Ask your mum if you can’t remember. Pick it up again. See if that talent is still there.
Why is it important to identify your talents?
Well for one it will give you a massive confidence boost when you realise how above average you actually are. Next, you can use this information to begin developing that talent. It used to be that we focused on our weaknesses and how to change them but nowadays, we’ve come to realise it’s much more productive to focus on our strengths and getting even better at them. Finally, this information may help you shed some light on the career areas that may be suited to you or that interest you.
If you need help unearthing your talent or want some advice on how to turn your talents into a career then contact me for a FREE career change consultation. 30 minutes over skype to delve into a career issue that’s troubling you. Click here to book in now.