Friday Motivation – Ayoola Oshiyemi

Lifestyle School 3lennog February 28, 2020 0 Comments

He is just so naturally smart! She is so effortlessly good at playing the piano! He is literally so clever but doesn’t even revise that much! How does he do that but puts minimal effort? Is there such thing as natural talent? Is there such thing such as natural intelligence. A question so controversial, a question which cannot be answered simply as it has so many layers so many factors involved within it. But is it a realism or is it just an obscurity or the truth. So my answer to this question is……… I don’t actually know? (This answer will make sense later). But what is talent, what is intelligence and what is success. All aspects of life so subjective and so individualistic to me, you and everybody influenced by where we come from, our environmental influences, the people around us, our school, our hobbies and ambitions in life which can have an impact on what our strengths are and what our influences may be.

Like John Legend said: “We all must follow a different path to let our light shine, and thank what makes us so unpredictable and unique.” He is different from me , she is different from you, we are all unique, special and different from one another so therefore I may certainly find certain things harder than others and vice versa but that is perfectly normal. As humans we are not perfect, and the struggle for perfection is a goal that will always remain impossible. If life was perfect, if our life was perfect than there would be no point of living. In life we may face academic, co-curricular and other internal battles which but they are not designed to scare or dismantle our confidence but to make us stronger and better individuals, to keep us growing everyday in ways you never thought were possible. If life were easy, it would get boring right? So now I ask you again the question is there such thing as natural talent, natural ability and natural intelligence? Well, to an extent, in life some people may find certain things difficult to grasp whereas others may get it in a heart beat, it doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have to work for it, they may just have to work slightly less to retain the concept than you. Don’t let that weaken your confidence because like Time Notke said: Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

Don’t let the thought of failure overcloud your perceptions of success. Yes, you may struggle, maybe more than your peers (in a certain thing) but remember that there are so many other things which you are incredible at. what I believe more than anything, although we can be ‘naturally’ good at something it is important that we acknowledge what we are not as naturally gifted at and improve in that as well so we can be the best versions of ourselves possible. So I encourage all of you from this day forth to challenge yourself to never give up and to look for ways to keep improving and flourishing in every aspect of you life because it is not only important for you to continue extend your potentiality and stretch yourselves but it also makes us feel enriched and aggrandised as individuals simultaneously. I will get my challenge grade! I will go to those clinics! I will keep practising my stick control in hockey, I will master this song or whatever this challenge may be, you won’t give up until you achieve your aim!

So is natural talent a real thing, whether it is a heredity, gifted from birth or can be retained over time. Maybe, we are naturally gifted at certain aspects of life and maybe just not as good at other things, but that isn’t a problem, and our academic, physical or co-curricular flaws is what makes us ironically perfect, it is what gives us the opportunity to be us, and gives us the power to keep trying and to keep believing in ourselves. Like Albert Einstein said: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” We live in a megalopis full of a miscellany of different people with different abilities, strengths and weaknesses and that is what makes us all so interesting and how we cannot be judged by the same set of metrics. Our differences should be commemorated and our weaknesses should not makes us feel inferior or silly but motivate us and our strengths and interests should motivate us as well and make us understand how amazing we all are.