Do your parents have a talent: writing, singing, painting or music? Do you think you have the same talent and are as good as them? If no, how did you arrive at the conclusion that you are not?
As a kid, I hated drawing and painting. My mom was a great painter and I was expected to get good grades at school, therefore I always asked my mom to draw and paint my art assignments. I always believed that I was not talented until I started painting at the age of fifty.
I became attracted to expressing myself, and after taking a painting class I was surprised how excited I felt about painting. I had a very low expectation of my talent (how bad could I be?) and I was surprised at what I accomplished. I no longer felt that I needed to compete with my mother and there was no grade pressure either!
Now, painting is one of the pleasures in my life. When I hear my friends say that they do not have the talents of their parents, I smile and tell them I‘ve been there. Our parent’s talent is a gift that we may have and perhaps are not nourishing or allowing it to grow. Revisit your parent’s talents and you may find an unopened gift. You may be pleasantly surprised, just as I was!
Undeveloped Talents
“I don’t have the talents of my parents”
said the man.
How do you know if you have inherited
the talents of your parents?
Think of a kid playing basketball with his talented parents.
After couple of setbacks in plays
he may have a new belief.
Will the child say
“I am not as good as them so I can not be as talented!”
What will the child do when he grows up?
He believes that he is not as talented as his parents.
Talents require incubation.
Like a seed that requires nourishment and light to grow.
As a child we were very receptive
of criticism and negative feedback.
We took it as absolute truth about our talent.
Talent can not be incubated with the
viruses of doubt and comparison.
How do you know you have not inherited
your ancestor’s talents?
What do you have to lose by
working to develop some talent
that you believe you do not have?
Think of what you can gain.
Copyright . 2012 by Shervin Hojat
