If something works, make more of it
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Dr. med. Preckel, why do so many people think they are talent free?
DR. FRANZIS PRECKEL: Often a self-esteem problem is behind it. How we assess our abilities depends only in part on what we actually do well. Comparing with others, whether we are better or worse than the people in our environment, whether we are reaping successes or failures - all of that matters.
How can I, as an adult, find out if any undiscovered talents are sleeping in me?
New talents are discovered when you dare to try something new. When you go to your personal limits. And it does not always say that you can not do this or that, just because you have never done it before.
That said, I say the best at the next meeting: "I take the lead from the project!" Just to try it, if I can do it?
It does not have to be the case right away. One can first try out in playful situations: Organizational talent can also be seen when organizing the flea market for the school. A communicative talent or leadership skills can also be discovered on the board of the allotment garden. You really just have to try a lot and then be attentive to what works well and at the same time relatively easy - then you are on the track of his talent. If you do not dare, you can also ask friends in a first step what talents they see at one.
If I am very talented for one thing, am I automatically successful in doing so?
Talent alone does not help you, frankly, not much. You have to train it. All who become very good at a thing and succeed, have practiced extremely much and keep on practicing. Studies show that an outstanding athlete, like a very successful scientist, needs an average of 10,000 hours of practice to develop a basic talent for excellence. That's a lot of time: the equivalent of about ten years, during which you train your talent for three hours every day. But without practice even from the greatest musical talent is no star violinist. And a person of intermediate ability, on the other hand, can become very good with a lot of practice and ambition.
Is talent innate?
For a while, one thought that gifts were synonymous with innate intelligence. This is how the idea of the human being born to genius came into being. About 30 years ago, the theory came up that with just enough practice, anyone could develop any capacity for excellence. In my view, however, something in the middle is appropriate. There are people with particularly favorable prerequisites, for example in music, mathematics, sports or other areas, ie the gifted. Achievement and success, however, only arise with them from the interplay of investment, personality, support and promotion of the talent.
Does every human have abilities that he could develop with practice in such a way that he is at least very good at it?
Definitely! There is no zero of the gift. We all have skills and are able to learn. And that is already the most important requirement for us to be able to develop our talents.
Suppose, in fact, it is only in my early thirties through a theater workshop that I discover that I have a talent for acting. Can I still be good at it?
Yes, for sure! It may be a bit harder than if you were in your early 20s. Usually you just have less time, for example because you have small children or a job. Also, with age, it becomes more exhausting to learn new knowledge. But otherwise it is certainly the case that at any age you have the chance to discover something new and to develop new skills. There are famous examples of so-called late bloomers, people whose talents became visible only very late. For example, the composer Anton Bruckner, who only began to compose at the age of 40.
If you finally discovered his true talent in his early 40s, could you quietly quit his job and start afresh?
Of course there are such stories. In general, however, it must be said that if you as an adult are very far from your previous life and education, it will be difficult. After all, success does not just depend on talent. For many professions, there is also a formal education that you have to go through. For example, those who start their medical studies at the age of 40 start competing with all the other people in the labor market who also have a talent for doing so - and also a time advantage in their learning history. That needs a lot of strength, that should not be underestimated.
That sounds a bit disillusioning.
But ultimately, it's not about everyone trying to become a super talent. Much more simply makes it more enjoyable when you bring it into line with your talents and you realize that you are developing, developing competence.Maybe you will no longer be a comedy star, but the expert for presentations with joke in your company. Or the talent in the healing treatment of people does not lead you to medical school, but in a training as a consultant.
Conversely, there are also gifts that have some sort of expiration date. No matter how good a person was as a young person in his sport, at some point the body can no longer perform at its best. And then?
Anyone who embarks on a career as a competitive athlete has not only the basic sportiness, but also the personality for it: To include above all stamina, a large tolerance for frustration and the belief in their own possibilities. And this achievement orientation does not disappear simply because one withdraws from the active sport. If you look at, for example, Steffi Graf, who continues to be successful as an entrepreneur after her sporting career, then you can assume that her focus, perseverance and performance-oriented attitude are still there and that she makes enormous use of it. They are now simply inspiring other talents who were behind the sport in the second row.
And what about lost talent from childhood, for example, musicality that was not promoted?
If the interest in music is still there - and not just the mourning for missed opportunities - then it makes sense to keep going there. But at another point. Of course, you did not train fine motor skills or your hearing for years, just like someone who has promoted his talent. Yes, certain conditions can be lost - but not completely.
You hear again and again that difficult fates can lead to a person developing talents. For example, that a child who has to be self-employed early on, because the parents work a lot, learns to think very independently.
Solving problems requires intelligence and can lead to talent development. This applies to children as well as adults. However, it is very important here that the problem appears solvable and there is trusting support. If a child grows up between quarreling parents and just has to endure, that is not conducive. However, if a child grows up in a conflict-ridden environment, gets support from trusted people, has a chance to talk about these conflicts, trains their language skills in quarrels, and experiences a consensus, then it can be a good learning environment , And with such a talent, even a gifted conflict researcher may grow up.
How can I promote giftedness in a good way with my child?
As an adult, one can easily foster the desire to think of a child by really answering questions rather than simply giving a standard answer. If you show him that it pays to look somewhere, if you do not know something, instead of saying, "Nope, I do not know, it does not matter!" It is similar with other talents. Taking interest, creating learning opportunities and a good learning environment: that's what it's about. Then talents can develop. But you can not force a will to perform. As soon as a gifted or clever child realizes that it is no longer about themselves and their own enjoyment of the matter, it loses interest.
In the end, that's not different for us adults ...
Exactly. Of course you can force yourself to practice with self-discipline. But that really needs a lot of energy. In the consultation we have a nice suggestion: If something does not work - do something different! If something works well - make more of it! That sounds very simple. But it is actually helpful.
Prof. Dr. Franzis Preckel teaches psychology at the University of Trier and has there the only professorship in Germany for gifted students.
