How to Figure Out What You’re Good At
By: Amy Tang
Tags: Inspiration, Personal Development, Self, Creativity, Self Improvement

I’m sure we’ve all read self-help articles about finding your passion.

“Passion is the best motivator.” “If you do what you love, it won’t feel like work.”

While these statements are true, it’s difficult to pursue these ideas in practice.

Simply put, finding your natural talent is difficult. It becomes even more difficult when we try to measure how good we are at something by comparing ourselves to others.

When looking to identify your natural talents, it doesn’t make sense to measure your current state of ability to someone else’s current state of ability.

A different set of circumstances is bound to breed a different state of ability. While it is valuable to reflect on what situations and people have influenced us, knowing why you are the way that you are will not change your future.

Reflection is important but not sufficient on its own.

What stands between the person you are right now and the person you want to be?

Perhaps it’s immobilizing indecisiveness. People fear wasted time, but the irony is that the longer someone stands around trying to make a decision, the more time they end up truly wasting.

For those who are afraid to make the wrong choice, start with something you don’t hate and pursue it. Even if you’re not sure if it’s right for you, the obstacles and trials you will face will help you become stronger and push you in the direction you want to be in.

Stop focusing on the end goal. Focus on the actionable little steps between now and the end goal.

At the end of the day, the only thing standing between your present self and the person you want to be is what you do from now until then.

Explore, try, and ignore what you think other people around you might be thinking. Chances are, they aren’t thinking about you — seriously, humans are self-centered beings with an inflated sense of self-importance.

Focus on the now and plan for tomorrow. That’s it.

By setting and accomplishing small goals each day, you rewire your brain so that it still receives instant gratification in the form of daily goals. Instead of looking for gratification in the form of desires, you get the same feeling in the form of purpose and fulfillment.

Be relentlessly committed. Too many people spend all their time dabbling in a little bit of everything, myself included. Instead, choose to pursue two or three of the things you have dabbled in, and dive in headfirst.

After all, anybody can become better at something with consistent practice. Instead of comparing yourself to others, work on honing your own skills.

Imagine if a talented high school basketball player dismissed his own talents because he is not as good as his idol. Or if a young singer was afraid to sing because there are others who are better than her.

In everyday occurrences, people compare their current state to another person’s current state, and this robs us of pursuing our own potential.

The way that we think is inherently unique, and this is where our natural talents lie.

When answering the question, “what am I good at?”, avoid comparing yourself to others and instead introspect.

Ask yourself: “what seems incredibly obvious to me?”

My mom told me recently about a coworker who was a mastermind at asking probing questions and identifying a client’s problems, worries, and inconsistencies to the dot. With time and practice, it has become muscle memory for her. While this is a skill that many do not possess, we should use the idea of identifying what we find simple or obvious to find direction.

If a solution to a problem seems obvious, pursue that solution.

This seems so obvious that it almost feels silly to write, but there are so many people who will think up solutions and never act on them. Mental blocks are often the culprit.

Problem: My health is not at its best.

Solution: Sleep more and be more active.

The solution is glaringly obvious, yet people will find a way to rationalize their way out of pursuing this solution.

“But I’m tired after getting home from work, I can’t exercise before bed!”

Okay, then wake up 20 minutes earlier and do a quick workout in the morning.

“I’m too busy to sleep more.”

Look at what you’re cluttering your days with, and eliminate the unnecessary.

Of course, there are problems with complex and less obvious solutions, but I’ll bet that each and every person has a problem they could solve today.

The Takeaway

Starting today, take responsibility for your thoughts, words, and actions.

Define your problems and come up with specific solutions.

By defining what you deem to be your problems, you are identifying parts of your worldview. By crafting a solution to this problem, you are utilizing creativity and logical thinking.

Pursue the solution that seems most obvious.

By actually acting on your plan, you will be able to see which areas you struggle in and which areas you naturally excel in.

Commit.

By committing to an endeavor, you will discover more about yourself. Follow through, and don’t fear wasted time. The only time truly wasted is the time spent agonizing over unanswerable questions.