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Natural talent vs. hard work |
This confrontation is also known, by many people, as a fight of Nature vs. Nurture, the difference between one's innate ability vs. ability affected by personal experiences. It is a topic that has been debated by people of all professions, nations, colours, throughout history. The words "gifted" or "talented" can be more often heard in artistic field, where the achievements of artists in fine art and performing art are more visible and obvious. Yet, I have to find the reason why people have the need for such debate or self-awareness. Perhaps some people need it in order to gain self assurance, while others find it hopeful.
So Natural Talent versus Work. It should be pretty obvious what they mean but just to make sure - Natural Talent being the attributes that you have genetically inherited; like intelligence, physique, or big vocal range. Work being the ability to concentrate, work hard, and be persistent at what you do. The point is if we take the percentage of talent and percentage of work, and mix together we can get one big mix known as "performance". Performance is of course the results, the end product, how well you do at something.
Of course there exist natural talent, it's not a myth. Let's have a look at such people like: Mozart, Michelangelo, Einstein, Michael Jordan, etc. – whom we can call natural talents. I'm sure that some people have more natural aptitude than others in certain areas.But, if we look deeply, in reality, talent can only carry you far, the rest is hard work. The two are not mutually exclusive.
However, the verdict of someone being naturally talented is often skewed. For example, when we see a fine piece of art or music, we often conclude that the artist must be really gifted. We come to this conclusion because we're judging the end result - the art work itself. But, most of the times we forget about the process and the journey of getting there. The artist may have been practicing for many years to get to that point. In this case, hard work plays a significant role, regardless of whether he/she is naturally gifted or not.
Another factor that's often ignored in such discussions is Passion. Passion makes us strive for excellence. Talent + hard work + passion is a winning formula for success.Personally I'd much rather see a hard working person with less natural talents succeed over someone with natural talents. There's just something so oddly honourable and satisfying about it. Being able to work hard towards a goal, consistently, despite hardship, is a gift. It's easy to judge talent by a painting, photo, music score or fan base because they're more conceivable.
What type of student were you when you were at high school? Have you switched types since you started going to university? So many questions, answers to which I don't really care about. The main idea is that you must find your own opinion….and decide what is more important …to rely on your talent or to work hard to get what you really want and need!
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