Most people at least once in their life contemplate what are they good at, which careers and paths in life they should pursue. And here the question of talents comes up, as well as their close relative – skill. And at some times answers aren’t exactly clear. No obvious things come up, which they are good at in life.
Your talents are determined by your genes, and they dictate the speed at which you will be learning certain skills. A good indication of your talents is your personality type. You’ll also have a much easier time and more pleasure in doing things you’re naturally inclined to do. And in your early childhood, you probably were doing those things especially obsessively, even if you have never shown any particular success in doing them at the time. Conversely, you can use boredom as an indicator of things you’re not likely to excel at.
But how important is talent, when it comes to mastering skills? And how important is it to master skills to your success in life?
Where does talent come from?
Talents are your aptitudes in learning a skill, they determine the time it would you to progress in that area, they are the inborn component of your personality.
You can think of pretty much any activities a person can take part in as a skill. Unlike talents, skills can be developed. To become good at a skill you need to practice it. The more time you put into your learning will – the more proficient you become. You acquire it with time.
But a person with talent will have faster progress in developing proficiency in the respective domain of knowledge, compared to someone without an inborn aptitude. That is by the definition of talent, as it is the thing which gives you an advantage in gaining skill, without you doing anything specific. It is there from the beginning.
Acquiring an expert level in any domain of knowledge, according to widely popular claim from Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 book Outliers, requires around 10 000 hours of dedicated practice and learning. But that number is based on real-life examples of real experts (violin players, in that book), and the time it took them to get to their level with deliberate practice. Even more, according to a recent study by Brooke N. Macnamara and Megha Maitra published in Royal Society Open Science, exceptionally good and “just” good violin players had the same 10 000 hours put into their deliberate practice. But their level of competence was different. There were clearly players with an innate aptitude, whose 10 000 hours put into practice, turned into a higher level of musical mastery.
Truth is, most people will never bother putting so much time into the deliberate practice of just any skill. You need confidence, that your success in that field will be significant enough to reward all the hard work you’ve put into it. If you’re like me, you’re not going to rehearse ballet movements 6 hours every other day for the next 10 years, when you have the grace of an elephant in a dish store. But how do you know, which paths should you take and what grind to embrace?
How to find my inborn talents?
The most important clue as to what is your inborn strength is that it is something you’ve practiced in your early childhood extensively, even excessively. Maybe you were doodling and drawing shapes, objects and people everywhere your hands and crayons physically could. Or perhaps you were the type to try and wrestle everyone and everything, climb and jump everywhere.
The other significant hint to your talents is again from your childhood obsessive activities. Things you were risking to continue pursuing are a good indication of your potential strengths. If you didn’t mind risking embarrassment from your neighborhood kids to stage plays in backyards – you probably have some aptitude for entertainment, at least, if not a Holywood-tier acting talent.
Are you a practice person? According to Scott Addams, skills could be divided into 2 categories:
- practice skills – require rehearsing, repetition of mostly similar activity, until you can perform it with precision pretty much subconsciously. Those are usually the skills gained through training;
- novelty seeking skills – require constant study and practice like the previous one, but subjects and topics change and vary, you might become familiar with a vast array of concepts under the umbrella of one profession, how they are interconnected. Those are usually the skills gained through education.
Depending on how much practice can you stomach in general, and whether a repetition of the same activity is something you enjoy or is a form of torture for you, you might be inclined towards one of these types more than the other.
If you want to have more clues and a larger arsenal of tools to seek out your talents, the techniques below will be helpful.
Write down what you do regularly with joy. Over the course of up to two weeks, notice at least 5 things which you do the most frequently and with the most enjoyment. Look for patterns in them. Which skill or area of knowledge are they the most related to? Can you follow those topics with deliberate practice in your life?
What do you tend to help people close to you with? Is there something you can solve with ease, which others struggle with? It is a good idea to participate in things, others are in need of help with, as well as in things others can give you feedback about.
Ask people in your circle about your strengths and weaknesses. The outsider’s view on yourself might provide insight, not only as to which of your abilities you were taking for granted, but which perceived strengths might have been inflated by your imagination. Although, take opinions of others about yourself with the grain of salt – use them for ideas, as guidance, not an objective truth. Your friends might be as clueless about you as you are yourself.
If you don’t have a genuine interest, try exploring:
- Spend time at a bookstore or library, strolling though sections, skimming book titles until something picks up your interest.
- Write and submit articles to aggregators like Medium, publications, or start your own blog.
- Try speaking on a topic, joining some kind of related public speaking event or uploading recorded videos on the matter to YouTube.
- Volunteer for a non-profit organization or a hospital, try helping the cause you feel you could care about.
Use boredom as a signal that the thing you’re doing might not be the best path in life for you. If you constantly do something and are bored by it, before discarding it completely – try changing some things in your environment, your approach or the activity itself a bit, observe when the interest rises again, and follow the breadcrumbs of increases in the fun. Experiment with your boredom levels and notice patterns.
Boredom can be used to find ideas for things that can be changed in your life. When you are sufficiently bored – ideas, however naive and vague, will come forward. All you’ll have to do is pay attention.
Look at book/movie collections. Is there a theme, a topic, which fits them? Is there a related skill or activity which fits it? Is there a convention, a class, you could take develop this skill? How can you connect with others who enjoy the same thing as you?
Remember what you are thanked for by the people around you. Are you a good teacher? A good motivator?
But one of the biggest predictors for your natural inclinations is your personality.
The connection between personality and talents
Personality is a tendency of people to think and act in particular ways. There are two major systems, which categorize people into personality types:
- Big Five (OCEAN).
- Myers and Briggs’ 16 personality types.
To have a good idea where do you fall in terms of your aptitudes, inborn strengths and weaknesses (and therefore which talents you have and which skills it’s better to try mastering) you can take a personality test
Extensive research shows a clear connection between personality, career choice in life and success at them. I’ll summarize in this section the discovered connection between personality types (for both system) and career choice and success0 so that you can easily infer the type talents, aptitudes and inborn inclinations different personalities tend to have.
Using an example of The Big Five personality types (OCEAN – openness [to new experience], conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism), here are some patterns, when it comes to talents.
When extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience in individuals matches (i.e., equals) job demanded levels, income rises for them, sometimes substantially, compared to peers, who are low in those traits (around month-worth of salary over the period of a year).
Neuroticism doesn’t correlate with higher income, even when it matches job demanded levels.
Even if one of the traits is commonly considered advantageous, like openness and conscientiousness, having higher levels of them than the job requirement doesn’t mean higher pay, and can be a disadvantage:
- for openness lower levels, than demanded by the job affected workers success less, than when openness exceeded demanded level;
- individuals, whose agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness were higher than demanded, actually had lower earnings than individuals who were low in conscientiousness and had jobs that demanded high levels;
- the average level of jobholders’ conscientiousness was negatively associated with earnings (on average highly conscientious people earned less), while the average level of job-demanded conscientiousness was positively associated with earnings (on average jobs, which required high conscientious people, paid more, even when the position was filled by someone not-so-conscientious);
- many people are not conscientious and emotionally stable (low on neuroticism) enough to fully satisfy the demands of their jobs, yet hold those positions. Meaning those traits aren’t as important as others in pursuing a certain field professionally.
Interestingly, the job selection for most people is done on one or two of the more pronounced personality characteristics, because it’s not feasible to select the profession which matches all personality traits simultaneously. Furthermore, people’s actual personality might change over time toward levels demanded by their jobs.
When matches between job-demanded and actual levels of personality traits were scored, results were the following (low score meaning poor match, high score – good match):
- for extraversion, the lowest-scored job was “Bookkeeper”, and the highest-scored job was “Film, Stage, and Related Actor, Director”;
- for agreeableness, the lowest-scored job was “Armed Forces”, and the highest was “Religious Professional”;
- for conscientiousness, “Decorator, Commercial Designer” had the lowest score, and “Financial, Administration Department Manager” had the highest score;
- for emotional stability (opposite to neuroticism), “Building Structure Cleaner” had the lowest score, and “Fire Fighter” had the highest score;
- for openness, the lowest-scored job was “Government Tax and Excise Official”, and the highest-scored job was “Film, Stage, and Related Actor, Director”;
And here is a table, summarizing how Myers&Briggs 16 personality types relate to their skill predispositions.
| Type | Description | Strengths | Weaknesses | Career Matches | Careers to Avoid |
| INFP | The healer. Introvert, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving | –Idealism –Integrity –Compromise –Dedication | –Sensitivity –Impracticality –Selflessness –Vulnerability | Arts Design, and Communications, Community and Social Service Business and Management Science and Health Care Education and Library More>> | Military Officer Police Officer Materials Engineer Electrician Systems Analyst Sales Manager Financial Manager Auditor Cost Estimator Engineering Technician More>> |
| INFJ | The Counselor. Introvert, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging | –Practical insight –Compassion –Keeping the peace –Decisiveness | –Overlooking details –Intensely private –Conflict averse –Sensitive | Health Care Counseling and Social Service Sciences Business & Law Education Language and Arts More>> | General Contractor Electrician Engineering Technician Mechanic Surveyor Farmer Real Estate Broker Sales Manager Restaurant Manager Property Manager Financial Manager Factory Supervisor More>> |
| ENFJ | The Teacher. Extrovert, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging | –Peacekeeping –Communication –Persuasiveness –Leadership | –Leap before looking –Overcommitment –Struggle to make tough decisions –Too selfless | Community and Social Service Media and Communication Education Business, Management, and Sales Entertainment, Arts and Design Personal Care and Service Sciences Legal Healthcare Office and Administrative More>> | Carpenter Electrician Mechanic Factory Supervisor Systems Analyst Medical Records Technician Auditor Pathologist Military Computer Programmer Engineering Technician Chemical Engineer Electrical Engineer Power Plant Operator More>> |
| ENFP | The Champion. Extrovert, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving | –Excellent communicators –Imaginative –Natural leaders –Strong social conscience | –Hypersensitivity –Lack of focus and follow through –Overthink things –Overemotional and approval-seeking | Entertainment Business and Sales Personal Care and Service Sciences Media and Communication Education, Training, and Library Arts and Design Healthcare More>> | Bank Teller Financial Manager Judge Flight Engineer Civil Engineer Mechanical Engineer Computer Software Engineer Systems Analyst Chemical Engineer Factory Supervisor Police Officer Farmer Dentist Pathologist Chemist More>> |
| INTJ | The Mastermind. Introvert, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging | –Strategy –Innovation –Determination –Willingness to Learn | –Superiority –Emotional Distance –Perfectionism –Imbalance | Business, Finance, and Math Architecture and Engineering Legal Science and Health Care Computers and Information Technology Arts, Design, and Communications More>> | Receptionist Hotel Clerk Secretary Telemarketer Recreation Worker Teacher’s Aide Preschool Teacher Home Health Aide Production Worker Advertising Sales Agent More>> |
| ENTJ | The Commander. Extrovert, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging | –Strong willed –Efficient –Strategic thinking –Charismatic leaders | –Blunt and dominant –Intolerant –Arrogant –Poor handling of emotions | Business and Financial Management Sales Architecture and Engineering Life, Physical, and Social Science Arts and Media Healthcare Education, Training, and Library Entertainment and Sports Computer and Information Technology Building and Operation Law and Order More>> | Receptionist Medical Assistant Teacher’s Aide Restaurant Host Preschool Teacher Home Health Aide Medical Records Technician Dental Assistant Licensed Practical Nurse Food Preparation Worker Child Care Provider Cosmetologist Craft Artist Bill Collector Data Entry Clerk More>> |
| ENTP | The Visionary. Extrovert, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving | –Fearlessness –Innovation –Adaptability –Confidence | –Flightiness –Impracticality –Breaking norms –Procrastination | Business and Financial Arts, Entertainment & Media Law Architecture, Engineering, and Technology Science and Medicine More>> | Medical Records Technician Dentist Nurse’s Aide Optometrist Family Physician Medical Assistant Dietitian Preschool Teacher Elementary Teacher Clergy Library Assistant Recreation Worker Receptionist Factory Supervisor Administrative Assistant Bank Teller Machinist More>> |
| INTP | The Architect. Introvert, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving | –Analytically brilliance –Objective –Imaginative –Enthusiastic | –Uncertainty –Absent-mindednes –Condescension –Insensitivity | Technology Engineering Sciences Business and Law Arts and Language More>> | Dental Hygienist Public Health Nurse Dental Assistant Licensed Practical Nurse Dietitian Preschool Teacher Elementary Teacher Recreation Worker Cosmetologist Retail Salesperson Restaurant Manager Sales Manager More>> |
| ESFJ | The Provider. Extrovert, Sensing, Feeling, Judging | –Strong practical skills –Warm and sensitive –Loyal and dutiful –Stand up and be counted | –Rigid and judgmental –Reluctant to improvise –Neediness –Lack of creative thinking | Elementary Teacher Special Education Teacher Child Care Provider School Administrator Counselor Social Worker Health Care Administrator Police Officer Family Physician Dentist Medical Assistant Optometrist Speech Pathologist Nurse Surgeon Physical Therapist Fitness Trainer Advertising Sales Agent Office Manager Fundraiser Receptionist Customer Service Rep More>> | Software Developer Computer Programmer Power Plant Operator Tech Support Specialist Farmer Airline Pilot Investment Banker Attorney Auditor Actor Editor Recreation Worker Electrician Mechanical Engineer Electrical Engineer Chemist Social Scientist Economist More>> |
| ESFP | The Performer. Extrovert, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving | –Showmanship –Supportive –Positivity –Bold and practical | –Avoid conflict –Sensitive –Easily bored –Poor long-term focus | Cosmetologist Retail Manager Buyer Public Relations Manager Event Coordinator Corporate Trainer Real Estate Agent Insurance Agent Retail Salesperson Merchandise Planner Landscape Manager Receptionist Flight Attendant Fashion Designer Interior Designer Jeweler Landscape Architect Chef Florist Gardener Musician Artist Costumer Photographer Police Officer Firefighter More>> | Systems Analyst Tech Support Specialist Airline Pilot Mechanical Engineer Chemical Engineer Biomedical Engineer Psychiatrist School Administrator English Teacher Family Physician Psychologist College Professor Attorney Judge Management Consultant Auditor Accountant Economist More>> |
| ISFJ | The Protector. Introvert, Sensing, Feeling, Judging | –Practical –Hardworking –Supportive –True to their word | –Resistant to change –Too altruistic –Take things personally –Overload themselves | Community and Social Service Life, Physical, and Social Science Healthcare Education, Training, and Library Office and Administrative Support Personal Care and Service Business and Financial Math Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Production Architecture and Engineering Transportation and Material Moving Construction and Extraction Protective Service Management Farming, Fishing, and Forestry More>> | Executive Management Consultant Sales Manager Marketing Manager Financial Manager Insurance Agent Copywriter Art Director Journalist Actor Photographer Military Mechanical Engineer Chemist Attorney Market Researcher Economist Social Scientist More>> |
| ISFP | The Composer. Introvert, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving | –Observant –Bold and spontaneous –Principled –Individual | –Too sensitive –Indecisive and unpredictable –Easily bored –Lack of future planning | Fashion Designer Interior Designer Cosmetologist Artist Landscape Architect Jeweler Carpenter Massage Therapist Occupational Therapist Veterinary Assistant Dental Hygienist Physical Therapist Fitness Trainer Pharmacist Office Manager Paralegal Insurance Appraiser Botanist Geologist Preschool Teacher Social Worker More>> | Executive Sales Manager Marketing Manager Retail Salesperson Auditor School Administrator Surgeon Dentist Psychiatrist Health Care Administrator Biomedical Engineer Biologist Aeronautical Engineer Chemical Engineer Attorney Judge Actor Architect More>> |
| ESTJ | The Supervisor. Extrovert, Sensing, Thinking, Judging | –Organization and efficiency –Dedication and commitment –Integrity –Stewardship | –Judgmental –Uncomfortable with emotions –Workaholism –Stubborn and inflexible | Sales Engineer Stockbroker Insurance Agent Sales Manager Purchasing Agent Real Estate Agent Hotel Manager Credit Analyst Budget Analyst Insurance Adjuster Farmer or Rancher Chef Attorney Paralegal Judge Auditor School Principal Pharmacist Dentist Physician Athletic Trainer Civil Engineer More>> | Artist Graphic Designer Writer Musician Actor Art Director Cosmetologist Restaurant Host Recreation Worker Preschool Teacher Social Scientist Physical Therapist Child Care Provider Social Worker Nurse’s Aide Veterinary Assistant Psychologist Librarian More>> |
| ESTP | The Dynamo. Extrovert, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving | –Can-do attitude –Bold –Personable and sociable –Direct | –Judgmental –Impatient –Unstructured –Commitment phobic | General Contractor Building Inspector Surveyor Mechanic Forester Carpenter Land Developer Landscape Architect Farmer or Rancher Hotel Manager Factory Supervisor Cost Estimator Chief Financial Officer Chief Information Officer Budget Analyst Financial Planner Airline Pilot Flight Engineer Civil Engineer Mechanical Engineer Air Traffic Controller Paramedic Flight Attendant Restaurant Owner More>> | Writer Librarian Curator Craft Artist Animator Clergy Physician Assistant Medical Assistant Veterinary Technician Public Health Nurse Dental Hygienist Preschool Teacher Electrical Engineer Chemical Engineer Electronics Technician Chemist Market Researcher Organizational Psychologist More>> |
| ISTJ | The Inspector. Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, Judging | –Perseverance –Planning –Detail orientation –Loyalty | –Stubborness –Tactlessness –Guilt –Resistance to change | Business and Financial Office and Administrative Support Management Architecture and Engineering Life, Physical, and Social Science Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Transportation and Material Moving Entertainment and Sports Healthcare Construction and Extraction Media and Communication Education, Training, and Library Sales Computer and Information Technology Protective Service Legal Military Community and Social Service More>> | Art Director Craft Artist Graphic Designer Actor Photographer Journalist Musician Recreation Worker Restaurant Host Bartender Retail Salesperson Public Relations Specialist Receptionist Cosmetologist Dental Hygienist Child Care Provider Preschool Teacher Speech Pathologist More>> |
| ISTP | The Craftsman. Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving | –Practical and creative –Problem solving –Common sense and world savvy –Flexible | –Insensitive –Risk-seeking behavior. –Impatient –Private and reserved | Carpenter Surveyor Mechanic Commercial Designer Landscape Architect Building Inspector Forester Farmer or Rancher Exercise Physiologist Athletic Trainer ER Physician Chef Photographer Jeweler Software Tester Property Manager Cost Estimator Economist Budget Analyst Criminalist Biologist Geologist Police Officer Firefighter Private Investigator Military Officer Airline Pilot Ship and Boat Captain Flight Engineer Civil Engineer More>> | Craft Artist Reporter Journalist Actor Urban Planner Market Researcher Clergy Social Worker Preschool Teacher Special Education Teacher Social Service Director Receptionist Public Health Nurse Dentist Occupational Therapist Family Physician Pediatrician Veterinary Technician More>> |
Talents, skills, and success
Success in life can be defined differently for different people. Generally speaking, doing the kind of work for a living, which
- you at least don’t mind (or better yet, enjoy),
- brings you sufficient by your standards income for a comfortable life
- gives you freedom and flexibility in your schedule
is an indicator that you’re in the right place in life. You are successful professionally, at least to some degree. Certain kinds of professions could unlock the liberty of doing your job from whatever place in the world you want and at your personally chosen schedule. Now that would be an undisputed success. Again, in your professional life.
Remember, one single skill (or talent in its acquisitions) would rarely be a definitive factor for your success – most professions, which can grant you liberties described above, would require a combination of different skills, which in tandem tend to complement and boost one another. For example, a successful songwriter has to be a good creative writer, have some proficiency in poetry and be a reasonably capable musician. Those constituent skills have different proficiency requirements for success in the profession which “contains” them, but they cooperate and prop each other up during the deliberate pursuit of individual’s professional activity, making sure, from songwriter’s example, that well-written relatable lyrics will have the right kind of rhythm to it with the right kind of music.
The success formula therefore is:
2 x Good > 1 x Excellent
You don’t have to excel at particular skill, but rather learn many different ones, which are at least mildly interesting to you, increasing your chance to stumble upon success later down the line.
To find out which combinations of skills will lead you to success you have to try them, there is no way around it. It might mean bailing out quickly. In the business world, for example, usually, things which aren’t meant to work start bad and stay that way, and things which start good, will bring success, granted needed work is put into them.
But above all don’t get stuck thinking that you don’t have any inborn talents if you’ve seen your peers at your school demonstrate athletic, creative and academic abilities, which were absolutely dwarfing yours. Like I’ve said before, you don’t need world-class excellence at a particular skill for success, just pick a few things, which mildly (or even better highly) interest you, consult your personality type for ideas, if you’re unsure, and keep getting simply competent at them. Further down the line, you will meet the opportunity to combine your mediocre expertise of a variety of skills into something, that will make your life a success.
But only deliberate practice, learning and careful empirical selection (and weeding out) of paths to pursue can bring luck on a collision course with your life.
