Anyone feel they aren't talented and depend on their work ethic a lot more?

College Confidential Community
1

I guess that’s a feeling I had my whole life. I was thought as a loser my whole life, and had a very lonely childhood. My mom was schizophrenic and my dad was an alcoholic. I wasn’t really socially aware so when I went to high school I was really alone for most of the time.

I used to do a watch an anime and I ended up getting an obsession with space. My ultimate dream was to become an astronaut, but when I talked about it everyone thought I was a joke. My high school counselors laughed at me when I said that dream and nobody really bothered to care because my high school had a lot of talented people and I was never considered one of them. I ended up going to a university far away from my home town and ended up feeling a lot better once I made my first ever friends.

I still had my dream of becoming an astronaut, but I realized something important. I was not talented. I didn’t have the insane ability to learn some of my classmates had, or some innate athletic ability/talent, but I wanted it so bad. After sorta taking and realizing I wanted this, I started working, and working, and working.

I used to run a 10:30 mile. I wanted the feeling of being athletic and strong, so I ran and lifted for hours, just focusing and ended up improving my mile time to 5:30, and improved my strength a lot.

I’m a physics major and I realized I did not intuitively get a lot of the things the other intelligent kids got, but I knew with enough effort I could do it. So I put in 13-14 hour days. Whether it was working out, studying, I just kept going and putting in 90-100 hour weeks.

And it helped give me a mental toughness. It just feels my mind can take a lot more and not get tired. I ended up doing really well in my physics major with my grades, got a great amount of research, ended up becoming a math tutor for the math department while still maintaining my athletics and social relations with breaking down/getting tired a lot less.

That’s what I really think what defined me. I don’t have the innate talent that others have, but I just have this desire to improve myself until I get to that level, and I think it’s really helped me go past the tough parts of my life and keep going towards my dreams.

2

I’m a high school math teacher. I was a quiet kid in high school, far too quiet to ask a question or attend extra help.

And, as a result, I almost failed both Precalc and Calc in high school. (I’m sure the very stern teacher I had for both courses laughed for days when she found that I was going to be a math teacher.)

Fast forward about 10 years. I took a job at a new school, working with that same teacher. And, when she quit, I got one of her classes.

You know what I found out?? I’m a far better teacher than she ever was. It turns out that I had the innate ability, I just didn’t find it at age 16. It’s entirely possible that you have lots of talents and abilities that you simply haven’t found yet.

There’s an awful lot to be said for the type of mental toughness you describe. I’m sorry that it was the result of a tough upbringing. But “native ability” can only take you so far. When you reach the limits of that ability, you reach the moments that define you as a person. And that’s where your mental toughness is going to be a huge asset.

3

I’m literally in the exact opposite position. I feel like my worth ethic sucks I just rely on talent

4

Being able to work that hard is a talent. I ran track for 4 years; going from a 10:30 in the mile to a 5:30 is crazy.

You’re doing extremely well, and your work ethic is epic. Always remember, hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work.

5

I feel ya. In high school, I always felt “overlooked”–the people who were thought to have more innate talent or intelligence were always the ones being recognized, lauded, or talked about. (It was a bit of a silly resentment, on my part, but whatcha gonna do.)

Hard work is important too. Sometimes it’s just as impressive as natural-born talent. I’m glad you think it has served you well! Definitely sounds like you’ve accomplished a lot.

6

Complete opposite actually

7

I know I am smart enough, but don’t think I have a particular talent.