Studying for a test for hours the night before only to get a B or worse the next day—we’ve all been there. We’ve all felt the disappointment and the frustration as you try to figure out what went wrong or if you’re just hopeless.
Meanwhile, just five feet away from you is the very antithesis of the current you: the genius of your class, obtaining perfect tests and throwing them away without another thought. When asked what they do to be so smart, they simply reply, “I don’t know; I barely even study.”
It’s difficult to fit concepts such as talent and hard work into categories. The talented could be considered the ones who “get it” from the start. Able to grasp the concept easily, the subject becomes second nature to them with little effort. On the flip side are the “workers”: those who start off at the bottom and have a hard time comprehending the torrent of new or obscure terms.
In such situations, it feels even worse to look over at the talented student and think, Why am I not as good? Why don’t I just understand it as I should? Failures and setbacks pile on, even as the talented student seemingly improves by leaps and bounds.
Unfortunately, society seems to view talent as something absolutely necessary when learning a particular subject. Drawing is an example of something that nearly everyone could claim to have talent in—or not. There are people who sit down and can draw beautiful pictures without having taken a lesson in their lives, and there are those who will struggle to complete even the simplest sketch. The “natural” artist will be enthusiastically encouraged to expand and nuance their talent, while others will be, at best, politely asked if they wish to pursue another endeavor. Such a pattern discourages the development of learning and ultimately makes talent look superior to any amount of hard work.
Yet this is clearly not true. Very rare is the activity that can only be achieved with talent—if any exists at all. I personally know several people who, although not excelling in any particular subject, have risen to the top with determination and effort. For them, what matters is not how easily they grasp a topic, but rather their motivation. Finding motivation, the drive to finish a task at hand, is no easy task by itself.
A lack of understanding when first entering a subject, the tedious work that must be completed day after day, the discouragement when others seem to be ahead of you; all these factors influence our judgement and make us waver. But every time you put in the effort to finish, you’ve reinforced your ability to put in hard work and follow through. Although we, as high-school students, may not find this achievement so profound, this ambition will become critical as we get older.
Talent is like an airplane. A person can get on, and from above see the wondrous landscape to fully understand how everything connects before arriving at realization. Hard work represents the hike. The beautiful landscape turns into a harsh wilderness, and every step along the way takes away energy and motivation. By the time you arrive, disheveled and exhausted, the talented has already set off for the next destination.
But even so, talent is not some trump card that guarantees success for the rest of your life. While talent in a particular subject may facilitate a certain path, in the grand scheme of things it is little more than a push in a certain direction. Even a talented individual will begin to struggle as their field of interest becomes more comprehensive—as much as any hard worker. As we go beyond high school, dedicated effort will be what distinguishes us from the next person, not natural talent.