I always say that to myself...
I have no unique talents at all. I'm bad at everything I do. I'm not a very bright student and the only subject I'm good at is History, which is useless in real life.

I don't even have a proper hobby. My friends can play the guitar, the piano, some can sing very well and some can draw like a comic artist. But my hobby is only collecting cute things...which requires no talent at all...I've tried playing the guitar, drawing, etc. too but I just suck at it and gave up almost immediately. A friend of mine once said that I have a very good imagination, but does that mean he couldn't find anything else on me that is worth the praise?

They say we all have our own talent, but I haven't found mine. T_T

I think the exact same about myself,cant draw/sing/write/basically do anything lol maybe one day your find something which you just have a natural talent for or perhaps you have one for history,that could be useful. having a good imagination is also what alot of people might not have so thats nice means you can think up plenty of stuff to keep yourself entertained lol i wouldnt worry about it anyway your probably capable of lots of things u just dont know about yet

I know how you feel. I don't have any special talents either. But I think that most people are just very modest about their own ability, and we always keep comparing ourselves to others. I play guitar, and I don't consider myself to be good, because I want to play like the pros like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, but I'm just nowhere near those guys. What I don't realize is that I AM probably a pretty good guitarist. Better than most beginners. But I always set my goal WAY too high, and I just end up getting disappointed. I bet even great guitarists like those guys think to themselves that they will never be as good as the people that inspired them when they were young.

Not many people are born with natural talents. Sure, some people might have an easier time for a certain sport, or they are more "artistic" than others, but that doesn't mean they didn't have to work for it. Most of those guys you see in the olympics have probably trained since they were 6-7 years old. Now I know this thread might not be about getting into the olympics, hehe, but the point is that every person who are very good at something probably have years of practice to back it up.

If you want to be good at something, you just have to practice, practice, practice. I learned this when playing guitar. There just aren't any shortcuts. Not even Jimi Hendrix was born with his guitar skills. he had to learn the scales and open cords just like the rest of us, and he probably thought the same thing a few times when he got stuck in his training, "I will never be good at this!". But you just have to keep at it, and don't give up!

If you want to do something, just do it. It's never too late to learn to play an instrument or learning a language or something else.

So your friend said that you have good imagination? If that's true, then that's a talent right there. I have to say that I have pretty good imagination as well, and I find that it's an excellent talent to have when you're writing. I love to write stories, and I never have any trouble making up stuff to write about. That's not something that everyone can do. I was bored at work and I wrote a story about one of my co-workers. He read it and was really impressed, and he told me that he could never write like that. I hadn't really considered it to be a talent before, so it was pretty cool to hear from someone else. Try it, and see if it works for you ^^

This post was last modified: 07-06-2008 07:27 AM by Jeremi.

I suspect that you under rate yourself or just don't see your skills.

If you give up immediately you should expect to have a lower skill level at it that someone who practices. I haven't spent enough time with a guitar to even figure out which end of it you beat with those little stick, so i don't expect to have that ability.

Still i do understand feeling like you aren't good at anything. I can't think of anything that i do well.

Being 'good' at something requires alot of time and energy. Nothing in my life...absolutely nothing...that I consider to be even decent at ever came easy for me. I suppose that is why when we finally do develop a skill we cherish it even more.

I do beleive people are born with some general aptitude...like imagination, or sensitivity to music, etc... But very very very few people are born with the skill to be really good at anything.

You have to work at it. I know how frustrating it is. I tried to learn to play the keyboard. I practiced every day, hours at a time, and after months of this I could only play a handful of songs, and not play them at a level I would like. I gave up. If I had stuck with it and kept practicing I suspect I would be as good as I want to be now.

PIck something you really want to do. Something that you have a passion for, not something you think you would be good at. If you like music then get an instrument. If you like art then go get some pencils/paper. If you like to write then write! When you start you will lack skill. But you have to keep at it. Eventually you will get to a point of frustration. You will be upset that you can't do what you want to do. This, my dear friend, is the threshold in which you must endure. You can keep practicing and work through it, or you can just say 'i suck' and give it up. If you find you can defeat this demon of surrender, then you find more and more things in life open itself up to you. This may possibly the hardest thing you could face. It is not easy. But the victory will be oh so sweet when you finally succeed.

I know you can develope a talent! I truly beleive anyone can. We may not be a Mozart, a Picasso, or a Tiger Woods, but we astound ourselves with skills and talents that we never thought possible.

I know that you said, Blue, that you have a good imagination and are good at history. But what is it that you really like? what gets you fired up? Impassioned?

It's true, some people may have more of a natural aptitude for one or another skill. But even so, they'd have to practice and hone and polish it to become even marginally outstanding in their field. As it goes, there's only 10% of talent that matters and 90% of work. Try different activities, see which one you really enjoy. You may dabble at some and find that they are not for you. The one (not necessarily one, as many as you like) that is worth investing your time and effort is the one towards which you feel a genuine passion, desire to improve and learn more, not those which perhaps are considered more fashionable, cool, popular whatever. It doesn't matter that you don't have a talent for it (or just think that you don't have more likely), your enthusiasm will compensate. And patience, of course. But if it's an activity which would make you happy, then it's worth it. Just don't give up. The rewards are very satisfying

To help you decide on the talent you wish to acquire, try coming up with some people who are very good at what they do and whom you really admire precisely because of their proficiency at a certain activity. Say, Madonna is an extremely popular/successful/insert-your-epithet-of-choice popstar. She is undoubtedly good at what she does but you don't really care as neither you like her songs nor are you interested in singing in general. But, for example, you have huge respect and admiration for masters of martial arts. You feel mounting excitement upon imagining that one day you might become one of them. Then it is likely a direction which you may want to try. But perseverance is key. You will see others performing fancy techniques and think "oh no, there's no way I could ever do that". Not true, they weren't born with that skill either, they trained a lot. Go ahead and one day you'll look back and be so very happy that you did not backtrack years ago. So there

Blue, Dude, Your not on your own. the world seems full of talented ppl and if you go anywhere on the net there always ppl that have truck loads of talent and seem to be able to turn there hand at anything and become an expert at what ever there doing with in a week of doing it. I am like you in that I do not have any hobbies and am not really into that much. I have a bike I like to go on. But that's about it and you dont have to be talented to ride a bike. And you don't even have to be fit to ride my bike as its electric lol Well I do use it normally as well with out the electric just so you know haha

Just be your self. I mean I tried to learn the guitar years ago and its just to difficult and far to time consuming for me. I not have enough patience for it. be your self and eventually you well fined things you enjoy and then you well become good at them.

This post was last modified: 07-06-2008 07:38 PM by Bluey.

It is not easy being good at something...it does take time, patience, effort, patience, time, perseverance, patience, time and effort...and after all this you still may not be good at it.

Work on the things you struggle with...is it having time to do...is it applying the patience when it gets difficult...is it sticking at it...

Work on these and your imagination and talents will soon rise to the top.

^_^;; Sorry for the long absence...I did read the replies you guys sent and they have really motivated me to do something. So I've been working on my drawing skill.

I created my own Deviantart account ! yay !~ There are alot of professionals in Deviantart...Last time, I'd feel jealous and I would compare my works with theirs'. But not anymore, I'll try my best to learn from the professionals instead of looking down at myself. Check out the 'Express Yourself' section if you want to see my drawings. ^_^

Hehe, and I volunteered to be in the designing department in the cultural club at college, so I've also been designing banners, posters, fliers and such. The other members liked most of my design and they're using them to promote an event. I can see my own banner design at the college's gate every morning and that makes me happy and proud.

Oh and yesterday, there was a drawing contest at college. My classmates asked me to join because they think I'm good at it. So I did...and..I'm planning to WIN !

I..still have alot to learn at drawing and not everyone liked my works, but I won't give up this time !
Being good at something makes people notice you. Now my classmates always approach me and they'd ask me to draw something. A couple of them also asked me to draw a portrait of them !! XD Hehe. I did draw their faces and I'm impressed of my own skill....I can draw real people !!!

Anyway, thanks alot you guys. ^_^

This post was last modified: 07-31-2008 03:08 AM by Blue.

That sounds great. It takes time.

Of course not everyone is going to like your work. You could even pick any famous work from one of the masters and it will still have it's critics.