“You are good at some things not because you were born with it.”

“You are good at some things not because you were born with it, but because you have the one talent you need – perseverance.” – Masaaki Ikemiyagi 9th dan Goju-ryu
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Do you agree with Ikemiyagi sensei? Are we born with talents or do we have to develop them?
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The short answer, in my humble opinion is; yes, we are born with talents. The long answer is a little more complex.
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Many people don’t know they have a talent for something. It usually only surfaces when they practice something and able to pick it up really quickly. While others need to practice a lot, or need to figure out how to do it after being told how or shown. Some people just seem to grasp it naturally, they immediately can do it.
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But you have to develop your talent too. If you do not develop a talent, it might never evolve beyond that.
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However, talent alone will not make you skilled. You reach a higher standard after practicing. But unless you actually hone those skills, you’re never going to be great either. That’s not to say that you cannot be successful when you’re not talented, because you definitely can.
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Many innate talents are being unused, because people never get into contact with something where that talent shines. If you have a particular talent, but you have no interest in it whatsoever, chances are that you wouldn’t even know you have that talent and it may lay dormant for your entire life.
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And talents don’t have to be so obvious; someone might have the talent to be a natural good listener, or the talent to sing a song after hearing the lyric only once. Sure you might be able to do something with it, but chances are you’re just using it in your daily life and accepting it without having to put it on display. For you, that’s just who you are.
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Raw talent is something that you’re born with, or something that you pick up fast. Real skill, on the other hand, is something that needs to be worked toward. Talent on its own only gets you so far. If you rely just on natural talent but don’t invest time, effort, and commitment to building a skill, your training is going to plateau or even fail to improve.
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Talent is definitely something innate, something you’re “born with”. What you do with that talent and how far you go to turn it into a useable skill, is free for you to decide. ??
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? Photo Credit: Masaaki Ikemiyagi: Quote: ikemiyagi com
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