Discover your interests and talents and put them to work

Key topic

Every human being has their own interests and talents that they first need to identify in order to pursue them. However, a lot of people lose valuable time in discovering their interests and talents, which slows them down from realizing their full potential.  Today, we will discuss personal interests and talents and discuss how people can go about identifying theirs. Moreover, we will explore their importance, but also how one can utilize interests and talents, and to what end.

Learning objectives

• Interests and talents are two very different things but equally important to us.
• In order to discover your interests, you need to keep an open mind and be willing to take on new experiences.
• Discovering your talents might not be as easy but there are a few steps you can take that may nudge you towards the right direction.
• The purpose of discovering your interests and talents is of course to use them as best as possible in real life.

Interests and talents

We all have our special interests and talents, or rather a combination of interests and talents, but it is up to us to discover and then utilize them. The word interest has many meanings but, in this context, interest simply means something (such as a hobby) that a person enjoys learning about or doing (according the Merriam-Webster dictionary). Talent on the other hand, is defined as ‘a special often athletic, creative, or artistic ability’.

We, human beings, are complex creatures; we are not one-dimensional. We have a variety of likes, wants, desires, interests and talents among other things. Interests are an essential part of our existence, holding a special place in our lives and might even have multiple roles. For some, interests are what keep them going. For example, there are people who are not lucky enough to have their dream job or even a good job generally and rely on their interests and hobbies to be happy and enjoy their lives. For others, their interests might be the stepping stone towards unlocking a new path, be that professional or personal. There are many ways in which interests are important to us. So, let’s stick with athletes in order to have a specific approach when explaining this.

It’s safe to argue that athletes have their dream jobs and they are for the most part generously compensated for it at the same time. However, they also have other things and interests completely unrelated to sport. Otherwise, they would probably get bored of life. Take Cristiano Ronaldo for example, one of the best football players in history. Ronaldo is known for how driven, fit, determined and dedicated he is and at the age of 36 he’s still competing at the top level. So, it is surprising to find out that apparently, he loves playing bingo: a game that is purely determined by luck. This is surprising because it’s not aligned with his attitude towards his sport. Rajon Rondo is apparently into roller skating, while Arian Foster is a fan of the Call of Duty franchise. Athletes have all sorts of interests which may be unrelated to their sport.

Talents on the other hand are different. In a sense, interest is about us liking and enjoying something, while talent is about that something liking us back. It means that your ability in a specific activity is higher than that of the average person. It can be difficult sometimes to recognize your talent and you might need others to point it out to you. As Maya Angelou said, ‘Talent is like electricity. We don’t understand electricity. We use it’. That is because when you’re talented in something it tends to come to you naturally, without you realizing that what you’re doing might be special.

You might also be talented in multiple things. There are athletes who discovered that they are talented in activities beyond their favorite sport. Daniel Agger, who played for Liverpool FC for example, turned out to be a talented tattoo artist. Michael Cuddyer, a former baseball player, discovered that he is a talented photographer. Former Liverpool and Manchester United players, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, are the most entertaining duo of commentaries in European football.

Now what are the similarities and differences between talents and interests. Firstly, interests are by definition things that you enjoy, that captivate you. On the other hand, you might be talented in something that you don’t enjoy. Gareth Bale is an amazing football player who competes for one of the best clubs in the world, Real Madrid. Yet Bale, although talented, has stated that he does not enjoy football as much as golf, something which has earned him criticism over the years.

Moreover, if you are talented at something it means you are good at it; being interested in something does not necessarily imply that you are also good at it. You just simply enjoy it. Interests are definitely easier to discover than talents, since you can be virtually interested in anything, while to have a talent for something is much rarer.  What is important to remember is that you can have a lot of interests and you can also have numerous talents.

Discovering your interests

Discovering your interests is not a science and not that hard to be totally honest. You’re still very young and you’ve probably discovered a few of them including your favorite sport.  You might not discover all the things that interest you during your life but you will definitely discover a great deal of them. Although there is no standard way of doing so, we have a list of things/ attitudes/ approaches to help you do that:

• Be open to new experiences– This is rule number one. Go out there and try new things that you haven’t tried before. Do not dismiss something because you don’t like the idea of doing it. You can reject it once you’ve tried it and didn’t enjoy it.
• Accept more invitations – Throughout your life, people will keep inviting you to events and activities. Try saying yes to as many things as you can; you never know how they will turn out.
• Do not limit yourself – One of the biggest mistakes we tend to do is trying to force ourselves to fit within self-imposed boundaries. Rejecting something just because we’ re not supposed to like it based on what others expect us to like. For example, the team quarterback might enjoy ballet; not the standard interest of people who are generally perceived to be tough and who are associated with this specific sport, but why not? There is no logical or scientific explanation that they shouldn’t. In short, that is to say, do not let other people’s expectations of you affect you.
• Try as many things as possible– Being proactive, which we discussed in a previous lesson is key here. Go out there and try as many things as possible, as long as they do not make you uncomfortable. This is the best road to discovering your interests.

Let’s hear from Dan Lok a few additional things that you can do to discover your talent(s):

7 Questions That’ll Help You Discover Your Unique Talent

Action Steps – Exercise 1 (10 minutes)

• Tell us all about an interest of yours that you have discovered lately?
• How did you come across it and what did you do to develop it?

Discovering your talents

People discover their talents in all sorts of ways; however, we have a few suggestions on how to go about it:

• Ask your family about your strengths as well as any areas you need to improve – Keep an open mind and do not react badly if you don’t like what they have to say. Others might be able to see your strengths and areas in need of improvement more clearly. That won’t enable you to pinpoint your talent(s) but it will narrow down the places you have to look.
• Ask friends about your strengths as well as any areas you need to improve – Similar to the above but sometimes friends, being part of your social life and closer to the trends of your generation may have some extra insights compared to family who can offer other things. A combination of both might be the best option.
• Keep a journal– Write your thoughts on paper every morning or every other day and then step away from them for a while. Come back after a week or so and re-read your notes. You may notice that a lot of your thoughts circle back to one main theme/topic/ idea. There is a chance that it might be a desire or talent. It will give you a place to start.
• What do people thank / credit you for– Are you a good listener? A good runner? Good at math? When people thank you for something, it means that you somehow helped them or even inspired them. Try to notice what you are thanked and credited for. There is a good chance that they are talents, no matter how small they seem.
• Improve on your existing skills– This might be a weird one but it is true. Raw talent is nothing if not properly utilized. You probably already have and are aware of some of your skills. These can be turned into real talent, but you need to take the time to develop it and really work on experiencing all of the activities that contribute to that talent. Rome wasn’t exactly built in a day, as the saying goes. You need time to realize whether you’re talented at something. Therefore, do not give up after the first attempt, or second, or third for that matter. Give yourself some time.

Utilizing interests and talents

There are various ways in which you can put your interests and talents to use, with the most obvious being your (future) professional career whatever that may be. However, not everything you do in life should be in service to your career, your work or for monetary profit. Life is also meant to be enjoyed after all. There are literally millions of interests a person may have and they do not have to be something that you gain from, moneywise. Simply enjoying yourself is enough some times.

As previously mentioned, you don’t need to be talented in something or particularly good at it to be interested in it. In a basketball game there are 10 people on the pitch competing (and then there are substitutes, coaches and referees) but tens of thousands in attendance and probably millions watching at home. Those millions on the stands and watching at home are all interested in the sport but do not compete, at least professionally. It’s the same thing with all your interests. As long as they offer you something; be that joy or thrill or satisfaction and so on then they are worth having.

It might even turn out that the skills or knowledge you get from one of your interests may help you in some way. Mountain climbing and running marathons will look good on your CV because it might be interpreted as you being a risk-taker, self-motivated and persistent. Moreover, watching sports is a great way to connect with co-workers since most people are interested in sports. So, in short, there are ways that your interests might prove useful and enjoyable at the same time.

Similarly, talents are a mixed batch. They can be broad or very specific. You may be a talented tennis player, but you can also be a talented speaker. One can secure you a very specific job, the other can be applied in different fields and scenarios. The most important thing that you should be aware about talent was hinted before: if they remain under-utilized – the biggest scare for every promising young athlete – they are useless. Hundreds of people remained just that: talented young athletes who never managed to live up to their true potential. If you are talented at something, that is not enough. You really need to work for it. Cristiano Ronaldo, as previously mentioned is a phenomenon. His physique, shape, stamina at the age of 36 is unbelievable. It was clear by the age of 18 that he would become something great. And he did. But to remain great until your late 30s, talent is not enough. It needs hard work and determination.

Any talented individual needs to stay humble and focused even after the results of their talent start coming in. You can be on a path of greatness and then grow arrogant or even scared which can lead to self-destruction. Utilizing your talents is not a speed race but a marathon. You have to be patient at the beginning, humble in the middle and persistent at the end, while working equally hard in all three of these phases.

Before concluding, let’s take a closer look at Cristiano Ronaldo and his thoughts on talent and hard work:

Cristiano Ronaldo’s lessons on how to have a STRONGER Mind | Life Changing Motivational Speech 2023

Now, watch this video on:

Talent Vs Training

Action steps – Exercise 2 (5 minutes)

• How important do you think talent is to your work-life success? Justify your answer in terms of the contents of the two videos we just watched.

Lesson wrap-up

The purpose of today’s lesson was to discuss the concepts of interests and talent. We began by explaining what each is and briefly identified their differences and similarities. We then explored a few ways which can help you discover your talents and interests. Finally, we focused on how interests and talents can be utilized in life.

At this point we will wrap up today’s lesson.  First, we will go over the learning objectives of this lesson and we want your feedback as to whether they have been achieved and then we will address any questions you may have.  Please feel free to ask anything you’d like in relation to today’s lesson and we would love to hear how the concepts we discussed today relate to you and your life!