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Not only no, but fuck no. When you have talent, it is your duty and responsibility to hone it and care for it. You have a gift; to squander it in a misguided a

Not only no, but fuck no. When you have talent, it is your duty and responsibility to hone it and care for it. You have a gift; to squander it in a misguided attempt at humility or fear of trying is the worst sin you could commit. Stop listening to what other people have to say about where you should go and what you should do; their reasons are either selfish or fearful. Only you are sufficient judge of what is your true potential, and that only comes through the continuous experience of discovery and trying. Become your potential, because you're the only one who will ever care enough. This advice will be downvoted to oblivion because very few people can understand it, but I implore you to at least TRY it, take a chance on yourself. SURVIVE and THRIVE!

mym1990 6y ago
Not sure you even read the piece. OP doesn’t link assuming that you’re below average with being below average, but rather being more humble in the way we approach other people and other activities. And by the way, I’m curious who bestows this “duty” and “responsibility” to care and hone one’s “talents”? You obviously come off as thinking you have at least one...
- kstenerud 6y ago
  The piece starts by running off statistics about everyone who has been wrong about being exceptional. Basically "Don't bother; by all wagers you're at best average." It then settles into the comfortable safety of "I'll just assume I'm average." No guts, no glory. Even worse, those statistics are basically about believing without evidence. Talents produce evidence when exercised (provided you're ready to recognize them). If something comes easier to you, you focus and push harder, seeing how far it can go. But you have to believe that you can or else you won't put your full weight behind it. Man's greatest asset and his greatest enemy is his mindset. The lucky talented just know in their bones that they are. For the rest, your mindset determines the success of your talents, and that mindset takes work to maintain.
yarcob 6y ago
If you have a talent, you can do with it whatever you want. There is no such thing as squandering your talent. People always told me: "You're so good at maths, you have to go into research. Your talent would be wasted as a middle school teacher." But then it turned out that I hated research. I work as a programmer now, a profession that I do enjoy, but it's so mundane. I wonder where I would have ended up if people hadn't discouraged me from becoming a teacher. I'm slightly jealous of people who get to work with curious kids every day.
- kstenerud 6y ago
  And that's totally fine. You're the only one who can decide how to build upon your talents (even though EVERYONE else will have an opinion on that). If you hate research, then research isn't your thing. My point is that you shouldn't sell yourself short by denying your talents entirely, as is being expressed in the post. Your talents are your edge, and an opportunity to make a difference (such as teaching in your case - talented teachers are the great amplifiers. They help the next generation discover and build upon their passions and talents, enriching us all). Talents in the right environments can foster passions. But once again, people telling you what you should and should not do is a huge problem.
- sokoloff 6y ago
  I wanted to be a school teacher. My parents, both teachers, basically barred me from pursuing that as my first career. (“If you want to teach, go do something else first and teach later.”) Though it reads negatively, it was among their top 5 contributions to my life I think. Now that I have kids in school and see what teachers have to do, it might be top 3.
imtringued 6y ago
If anyone downvotes your comment it is because it plays into common tropes that don't help anyone. >When you have talent, it is your duty and responsibility to hone it and care for it. First of all there is the idea of a talent being a trait. It's not. It's merely acquired (through exposure aka experience). You have zero duty and responsibility to hone anything. >You have a gift Yeah, the gift of being human. The one thing that helps you more than anything else because being human lets you acquire everything else. >to squander it in a misguided attempt at humility or fear of trying is the worst sin you could commit. There is no such sin. Everything is wasted by default. The vast majority of animals never reach adulthood. >Stop listening to what other people have to say about where you should go and what you should do; their reasons are either selfish or fearful. Only you are sufficient judge of what is your true potential, and that only comes through the continuous experience of discovery and trying. That's an argument to stop listening to you because you are a burden to me. You will never give anything, you just take. Your arguments boil down that every living thing starts at minus x and if you do (not try) your best and do everything perfectly you will merely arrive at 0.
ZephyrBlu 6y ago
You might like this article: https://limitlesscuriosity.com/modesty-kills-excellence/ https://limitlesscuriosity.com/modesty-kills-excellence/ It touches on something similar.

mym1990 6y ago

Not sure you even read the piece. OP doesn’t link assuming that you’re below average with being below average, but rather being more humble in the way we approach other people and other activities. And by the way, I’m curious who bestows this “duty” and “responsibility” to care and hone one’s “talents”? You obviously come off as thinking you have at least one...

kstenerud 6y ago
The piece starts by running off statistics about everyone who has been wrong about being exceptional. Basically "Don't bother; by all wagers you're at best average." It then settles into the comfortable safety of "I'll just assume I'm average." No guts, no glory. Even worse, those statistics are basically about believing without evidence. Talents produce evidence when exercised (provided you're ready to recognize them). If something comes easier to you, you focus and push harder, seeing how far it can go. But you have to believe that you can or else you won't put your full weight behind it. Man's greatest asset and his greatest enemy is his mindset. The lucky talented just know in their bones that they are. For the rest, your mindset determines the success of your talents, and that mindset takes work to maintain.

yarcob 6y ago

If you have a talent, you can do with it whatever you want. There is no such thing as squandering your talent. People always told me: "You're so good at maths, you have to go into research. Your talent would be wasted as a middle school teacher." But then it turned out that I hated research. I work as a programmer now, a profession that I do enjoy, but it's so mundane. I wonder where I would have ended up if people hadn't discouraged me from becoming a teacher. I'm slightly jealous of people who get to work with curious kids every day.

kstenerud 6y ago
And that's totally fine. You're the only one who can decide how to build upon your talents (even though EVERYONE else will have an opinion on that). If you hate research, then research isn't your thing. My point is that you shouldn't sell yourself short by denying your talents entirely, as is being expressed in the post. Your talents are your edge, and an opportunity to make a difference (such as teaching in your case - talented teachers are the great amplifiers. They help the next generation discover and build upon their passions and talents, enriching us all). Talents in the right environments can foster passions. But once again, people telling you what you should and should not do is a huge problem.
sokoloff 6y ago
I wanted to be a school teacher. My parents, both teachers, basically barred me from pursuing that as my first career. (“If you want to teach, go do something else first and teach later.”) Though it reads negatively, it was among their top 5 contributions to my life I think. Now that I have kids in school and see what teachers have to do, it might be top 3.

imtringued 6y ago

If anyone downvotes your comment it is because it plays into common tropes that don't help anyone. >When you have talent, it is your duty and responsibility to hone it and care for it. First of all there is the idea of a talent being a trait. It's not. It's merely acquired (through exposure aka experience). You have zero duty and responsibility to hone anything. >You have a gift Yeah, the gift of being human. The one thing that helps you more than anything else because being human lets you acquire everything else. >to squander it in a misguided attempt at humility or fear of trying is the worst sin you could commit. There is no such sin. Everything is wasted by default. The vast majority of animals never reach adulthood. >Stop listening to what other people have to say about where you should go and what you should do; their reasons are either selfish or fearful. Only you are sufficient judge of what is your true potential, and that only comes through the continuous experience of discovery and trying. That's an argument to stop listening to you because you are a burden to me. You will never give anything, you just take. Your arguments boil down that every living thing starts at minus x and if you do (not try) your best and do everything perfectly you will merely arrive at 0.

ZephyrBlu 6y ago

You might like this article: https://limitlesscuriosity.com/modesty-kills-excellence/ https://limitlesscuriosity.com/modesty-kills-excellence/ It touches on something similar.